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please email [email protected]. "NEW ERA": THE POLITICAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE HINDUSTANI GHADAR PARTY
Karen Singh Almquist B.S., University ofCalifornia, Davis, 1994
THESIS
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MASTER OF ARTS
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HISTORY
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CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
SPRING 2009 "NEW ERA": THE POLITICAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE HINDUSTANI GHADAR PARTY
A Thesis
by
Karen Singh Almquist
.______, Committee Chair
______, Second Reader Charles Postel
Date
11 Student: Karen Singh Almquist:
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual and that this Thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the Thesis.
Department of History
l1l Abstract
of
"NEW ERA": THE POLITICAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE HINDUSTANI GHADAR PARTY
by
Karen Singh Almquist
No close examination ofHindustani Ghadar Party literature has been completed
in order to ascertain the Ghadar Party view ofthe political relationship between British
controlled India and America. This thesis will provide an analysis oftheir newsletters
and other correspondence in order to understand how their ideological perception
evolved in relation to the United States and British India. Specifically, the Hindustani
Ghadar Party's view ofthe political relationship between Indian freedom and American freedom will be studied. I will focus on three distinct time periods: from the beginning of
the Ghadar Party movement up until the end ofthe quixotic revolution to invade India;
during the federal trial of1917-1918; andfinally, the time period between 1918 and the
1920 's where the political perceptions ofthe Ghadar Party diversified. The timeframe of
this study is 1913-192 8. My examination shows that the political ideology changed
significantly during the years 1913-1925. Notably, the federal trial acted as a milestone
for the group's ideology-the pre-war ideas expressing similarities between America
and India changed to an idea that America had lost its way and that the Indian
expatriates were the true holders ofAmerican virtues offreedom.
IV The sources usedfor this thesis include Hindustani Ghadar Party newsletters,
autobiographies ofmembers and leaders, political writing ofthe leaders, newspaper
excerpts from the New York Times and Berkeley's Daily Californian, trial transcript
from the neutrality trial US. v. Franz Bopp, San Francisco Chronicle coverage ofthe federal criminal trial brought against Hindustani Ghadar Party members, general files
from the Department ofJustice related to the conspiracy case, records from the
Immigration and Naturalization service, andpost-trial telegrams to affiliates in New
York City. This thesis references a large number ofprimary sources, several translated
specifically for this thesis, in addition to numerous secondary sources as well as the
Forei n Relations ofthe United States, Lansing Papers.
, Committee Chair
V PREF ACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have been told that completing a thesis is like giving birth. The gestation ofthis
particular work has lasted nearly seven years. I initially believed that the topic was of
such great interest, it would be "easy." As months dragged to years and the offspring
was born a piece at a time not at once, my once cheery attitude changed dramatically. I
dreaded the inevitable, "Done yet?" and answered with a curt, "no." This eventually
morphed into, "I'll let you know when it's done," "back off," and (my personal favorite),
"I gave that up ages ago."
I initially fell in love with this project because it reminded me of my father who
told me numerous stories describing his life as a new American-- a Punjabi Sikh
immigrant in 1953, alone and with only $7 dollars to his name. My two stories that
reminded me of this thesis topic involved his first days in California. The first involved a
cross-country train trip to Yuba City. He didn't understand why people kept getting up at regular intervals and going to another car and then came back. A day and a half passed
before someone noticed that my father looked exceptionally hungry. An older lady and
her husband took pity on my dad and explained that people were going to the dining car to eat; they then invited him to dine with them. The second story occurred after he
disembarked from the train. After walking several miles from a train station in Yuba
City, he attempted to purchase a soda from a gas station vending machine. Puzzled as to why the machine didn't dispense the soda, my dad inquired and was subsequently chased away by the establishment's owner who had armed himself with a rifle.
Vl The antithesis of most Indian immigrant men, he despised being a part of whflt he
considered a "backward thinking" Victorian-based community and embraced American
life, including, unfortunately, its propensity to overindulge in tobacco. Paradoxically, he
clung to the idea that his children would "marry Indian" and that no reason existed for
his children to date because marriages would be arranged. He personified the immigrant
experience by showing loyalty to his new country and yet retaining some of the cultural
characteristics from his birth home. He ultimately sided with his new country in the tug
of -war but continued to push me along a many-forked path so that I had to choose and
defend my identity as the daughter of immigrants-sometimes even to him.
My mother continued his crusade after his death. Fully immersed in American
life, she realized that my brother and I were also "Amreekan" but lacked the
counterweight of "Punjabi-ness." My mom's pioneering spirit has always awed and
inspired me since she too immigrated to an unknown country, nearly twenty years after
my father, and successfully transformed from "wife" to "provider." Unfortunately, the
early Indian immigrants and the Ghadar Party participants did not bring wives to
America, and it is their absence that is most acutely felt in this story.
Those who assisted me with this project are too many to count, but I would like to give special thanks to my mom, Jyoti, for her translation services; the Desh Bhagat
Yagdar Ghadar Party Museum in Jullunder Punjab, India; Ted Sibia who loaned to me
numerous documents and brought the Sikh perspective to my attention; to my brother
Jesse who listened without criticism or comment on long-distance phone calls as I tried
Vil to explain what I was doing and why it was taking me so long; and to David and Sahara who put up with my moodiness and tantrums.
It was the memory of my father that finally got me to finish this work. I knew he would be disappointed if,. after seven years, I never saw the product gathering dust on the
shelf in the basement of the CSUS library.
Lastly, I would like to thank all those family members, friends, acquaintances, and co-workers who pushed me relentlessly by asking, "Are you done with your thesis yet?"
I can finally answer, "Yes I am."
Vlll DEDICATION
This Thesis is dedicated to Pops, Momma and Jesse.
IX TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgements ...... vi
Dedication ...... ix
List of Figures ...... xi
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1
Overview and Background ...... 1
Literature Review ...... 5
2. THE PRE-WAR YEARS: 1910-1917 ...... 14
Immigration and Racism ...... 14
3. THE FEDERAL TRIAL, UNITED STATES V. RAM CHANDRA, ET. AL: 1917-1918 ...... 52
4. POST TRIAL ERA: 1919-1925 ...... 72
5. CONCLUSION...... 90
Bibliography ...... 92
X LIST OF FIGURES
1. Figure 1 : Hindus Driven Out...... 25
2. Figure 2: A New Problem for Uncle Sam ...... 27
3. Figure 3: First Sikh Temple in the United States, Circ. 1912 ...... 34
4. Figure 4: Independent Hindustan ...... 46
5. Figure 5: Yugantar...... 47
6. Figure 6: Ghadar Issue, June 23, 1917 ...... 59
7. Figure 7: Ghadar Issue, July 1, 1917 ...... 59
8. Figure 8: Ghadar Issue, July 7, 1917 ...... 59
9. Figure 9: Ghadar Issue, June 9, 1917 ...... 59
XI "We get our ideas offreedom not from India, butfrom America. .. It is hard that we should suffer for loving the freedom that you teach us. " ----Bhagwan Singh in San Francisco, April 1918
"Chu Kar az hamah hflate dar guzasat; halal asatu buradan ba samaser dasat." ("When all other means have failed, it is lawful to grasp the sword'') ----Zafar-nama, stanza 22, Dasam Granth
Xll 1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Overview and Background
On New Year's Eve 1913, in a building on 2nd and L Streets in Sacramento,
California, approximately 100 immigrant Indian men met and formed the Hindustani
Ghadar Party. 1 They traveled to Sacramento after seeing a notice in the weekly
newsletter Ghadar, which had circulated at the Stockton Sikh Gurduwara (Temple).1
The December 23 rd Ghadar issue urged all Indian men to attend the December 31 st
gathering in order to hear Stanford lecturer Lala Hardayal speak about Indian remedies to British atrocities.3 Those Indians who attended came from differing religious and occupational backgrounds. Some were Hindu and Muslim while others were Sikhs;
some were students and others farm hands. But they all came for the same reason- to
plan the violent overthrow of the British government in India using the Pacific coast of
North America as their base of operations. They agreed that the main mechanism for this
revolution was to be an armed military expedition into India.
The newsletter that carried the initial notice, Ghadar, acted as a vehicle of political expression of the Indian expatriate community. Ghadar used American
1 · United States Department of Justice, National Archives and Records Administration, Microfilm record #1838, reel 2. 2 "Ghadar" has many similar meanings, although the most common include, "mutiny," "uprising," "rebellion," "revolt," and "fight." The terms "Ghadar", "Gadar", and "Ghadr" are alternate spellings for the movement. For ease, I use the spelling "Ghadar", but when citing other sources, defer to the author's spelling. 3 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Ghadar (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram) December 23, 1913, Gurmurkhi issue. 2 iconography and references to early American conflict with England to create a connection between American colonists and Indian immigrants. The editors of Ghadar then used the connection to stir the expatriate community to military action overseas.
But the newsletter also reflected the Ghadar members' political perceptions and, as such, provides a window to understanding these perceptions.
The Hindustani Ghadar Party was formed by Indian expatriates in the United
States in 1913 and lasted until India's independence in 1947. The group was comprised of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs; Hindus comprised the leadership positions of the
Hindustani Ghadar Party while Sikhs were largely the rank-and-file members. The
Pacific coast of the United States served as the recruiting area for Hindustani Ghadar
Party members but their base of operations was in San Francisco. It was from their Hill
Street location that they began publishing their newsletter, Ghadar. Through articles in
Ghadar, the Hindustani Ghadar Party called for a violent revolution in India against the
British crown. They believed that as an expatriate group, they would be able to mobilize, purchase guns and ammunition, and then sail back to India in order to incite the revolution against the British.
No close examination of Hindustani Ghadar Party literature has been completed in order to ascertain the evolution otthe Hindustani Ghadar Party political viewpoint concerning British-controlled India and America: This thesis will provide an analysis of their newsletters and other correspondence in order to understand how their political perception evolved with regard to the United States and British India and situated their colonial critique in American political culture. Specifically, I will examine the 3
Hindustani Ghadar Party's view of the political relationship between Indian
independence and American independence. I will study three distinct periods: from the
beginning of the Ghadar Party movement up until the end of the quixotic invasion of
India; during the federal trial of 1917-18; and finally, the period between 1918 and 1928
when the political perceptions of the Ghadar Party diversified.
The Hindustani Ghadar Party's political perceptions changed significantly during
the years 1913-25. Although rooted in a recently reorganized Sikhism, the Hindustani
Ghadar Party initially espoused quintessentially American ideals, including faith in the
tenets of freedom and independence and belief in their kinship with the American
revolutionaries of the eighteenth century. All of their early published literature was
specifically geared toward generating sympathy for their plight by describing in detail
the British mistreatment of Indian people and the link with British oppression discussed
by America's founders. They generated an aura of kinship by using American
iconography and literature to present the idea that they were the inheritors of American
values.
The subsequent arrest and federal trial of the Ghadarites in 1917and 1918 soured
them on their kinship with the American experience. They viewed their arrest and trial as
an act of betrayal by the American government, and their perceptions about America
changed appreciably. The federal trial eventually intensified the Ghadar Party's
attraction to what they considered "true" American ideals espoused by George
Washington and Thomas Paine. Ghadar articles presented questions about the state of true "freedom" in America- especially when a newsletter editor, such as Ram Chandra 4 could be jailed. After the trial, Ghadar contributors and editors included stories about
graphic violence against Indians in India as well as Socialist and Christian evangelical arguments for the freedom of India. Interestingly, later Ghadar editors were able to
integrate these disparate ideas into a single call to action by creating newsletters purposely targeted to entice American and Indian audiences. Through historical analysis, the Hindustani Ghadar Party can be seen as an integral part of American history which exposed an irony about America-namely that the anti-imperialist, pro-democratic organization within America was deemed to have "too much love for their country"4 and that rather than being protected by, were betrayed by their safe haven and even
subsequently offered to British authorities. Within this work, I will attempt to depict the
Hindustani Ghadar Party through the lens of America both before and after the federal trial and show that their history, although rooted in the newly organized Sikhism, is an
American history. Within the western historical context, the Ghadar Party has never been depicted as an American movement, but I believe the Hindustani Ghadar Party was quintessentially American and yet has been completely overlooked in American historical texts.
4 Judge James Vanfleet, in The Hindustani Ghadar Party: A Short History, Vol. 2, Sohan Singh Josh (New Delhi: People's Publishing House, 1970), 119. 5
Literature Review
Indian Scholarship For the most part, Indian scholars who have written about the Hindustani Ghadar
Party have focused on the military invasion of India. The books are written with little to
no analysis or historiography; rather they cover the events as a chronicle. They do not
look at the political writing, the United States federal trial, or any of the American contributing factors to the Ghadar Party formation. As a group, not one Indian scholar of the Ghadar movement is a historian.
The best known Indian scholar of the Hindustani Ghadar Party, Khushwant
Singh is a journalist and novelist who published Ghadar 1915: India's First Armed
Revolution in 1966. His work focused on British India during a few key months in 1915.
The brief 120-page work provides cursory coverage of the military failure in India: over half of the text is allotted to appendices and photographs. While supplying a basic time line of the Ghadar Party milestones, Ghadar 1915 focuses on the reasons for the
Party's military failure in India. Singh argues that the Ghadar Party failed because of
"the tension between the Germans and the Ghadarites ... and the efficiency of the British
Intelligence Service which planted spies in the highest councils ofthe revolutionaries."5
Singh does not take into consideration other potential factors such as the Ghadarites' lack ofplanning or their naYve view of the realities of a military expedition. In Singh' s work, the American influences on the Hindustani Ghadar Party go largely unnoticed. He
5 Khushwant Singh, Ghadar 1915: India's First Armed Revolution (R&K Publishing House: New Delhi, 1966), 55. 6 does not refer to the federal trial or· the deportations, nor does the work explore any aspect of the literature of the Hindustani Ghadar Party. Ghadar 1915 emphasizes the military expedition and that Indians.fought against their oppressors.
Like K.hushwant Singh, Gurdev Singh Deol was an Indian scholar who published a work in the l 960's on the military excursion of the Hindustani Ghadar Party. Deol published The Role ofthe Ghadar Party in the National Movement in 1969 in Jullunder,
Punjab, India. His background as an economist and political scientist laid the foundation of the expansive work. Deol's work is well researched, and he provides analysis and numerous primary source citations on the military expedition and British Conspiracy trials. His appendix outlined the different Indian conspiracy trials and their outcomes. He also gathered relevant immigration numbers from reputable sources.
Deol's work essentially introduces the Hindustani Ghadar Party to the scholarly
Indian audience. Although he covers the work, genesis, and expansion of the Hindustani
Ghadar Party, the work's emphasis like other Indian writers, is also on the failed military expedition in India. Additionally, Deol seeks to place the Hindustani Ghadar Party within the context of other Indian nationalist organizations. Deol argues that the
Hindustani Ghadar Party represented the pinnacle of Indian nationalist organizations.
Like that of K.hushwant Singh, his work lacks depth of coverage on any of the literary correspondence of the Hindustani Ghadar Party. Like Singh, Deol concludes with several oversimplified reasons for the military failings of the Ghadar Party revolution 7 including "the Indian habit ofregarding the ideal as an accomplished fact..."6 Since Deol views the military revolution as the basis for the Ghadar Party, he believes that the military failure marked the organization's demise.
Athird Indian contributor to the historiography of the Hindustani Ghadar Party,
Anil Baran Ganguly published the aptly titled, Ghadar Revolution in America in 1980.
His work places the Hindustani Ghadar Party within the framework of Indo-American relations starting with the American revolutionary war in the eighteenth century. Writing from a Marxist perspective, he argues that the rich, capitalist country of America could not be expected to assist the Ghadarites in their fight against Britain. However, like the other Indian authors, his work focuses on the military expedition to India. He devotes only two paragraphs to the American federal trial of United States v. Franz Bopp, et. al., and he curiously (!) justifies the murder Ram Chandra in the courtroom. 7 Additionally,
Ganguly includes several appendices of the names and villages of those incarcerated from the many Indian-conspiracy cases. Unlike other Indian scholars, Ganguly devotes several pages of text covering events after the military expedition and conspiracy trials.
For instance, he includes a letter from Tarak Nath Das to Harry Truman in 1950 asking for assistance to feed those displaced by an earthquake in Assam. 8 His inclusion of this letter links the discrimination the early Indian immigrants felt with the Marxist
6 Gurdev Singh Deol. The Role ofthe Ghadar Party in the National Movement (Delhi: Sterling Publishers, I 969), I 82. 7 Arun Baran Ganguly, Ghadar Revolution in America (New Delhi: Metropolitan Publisher, 1970), 89. . 8 Taraknath Das To Harry Truman, letter dated September 2, 1950 Reprinted in Ganguly, Ghadar Revolution in America, 110-111. 8
interpretation of continued economic imperialism dominating Asia in the 1950's. In
other words, Ganguly attempts to link the Ghadar Party to world events after 1919,
something no other Indian author has done.
Western Historical Scholarship The western historical scholarship on the Hindustani Ghadar Party differs
considerably from Indian research. Unlike Indian scholars generally, American historians focus on the events in America that are relevant to the Hindustani Ghadar
Party. American historical interest in Hindustani Ghadar Party actions reached a climax
in the l 960's and early 1970's. During this time period several American historians published works on the activities surrounding the Hindustani Ghadar Party, including
Don Dignan and Joan Jensen. In the 1960's, American historians approached the topic as a corollary to the issue of immigration to America, but not one American historian analyzes the Hindustani Ghadar Party's newsletters and how they changed over time.
The first American historian to write about the Ghadar members was Giles T.
Brown, who completed his Ph.D. dissertation in 1948 entitled, "The Hindu Conspiracy,
1914-1917." The dissertation was subsequently published in an abridged form by the
Pacific Historical Review. Brown's focus, interestingly, was similar to Singh's, namely the actual military expedition. Brown, however, covers it from the vantage point of the
American events--chronicling the events in America up to the departure of Ghadarites for India. He skips the story of the revolution in India and gives no indication of the
Ghadar Party ideology that led them to undertake such a task. Brown picks up with the federal trial and the sensationalism caused by the "Hindu" defendants in court. Combing 9
through newspaper coverage of the trial, Brown depicts the aspects of the conspiracy
that seem relevant to a 1940' s American audience, including the political leanings of
Japan in relation to the Hindustani Ghadar Party. For instance he depicts how Taraknath
Das attempted to convince the Japanese that Americans were planning war on Japan and that the Japanese should form an alliance with Germany. Brown believed that Hindustani
Ghadar Party history was not well known in the United States precisely because the climax of events occurred during the United States' entry into the First World War.9
Don K. Dignan wrote a single article entitled, "The Hindu Conspiracy in Anglo
American Relations during World War I" in the Pacific Historical Review in 1966.
Referencing Brown's work from two decades earlier, Dignan builds on Brown's work by looking at the Hindustani Ghadar Party through the prism of Anglo-American relations.
Using then newly opened British intelligence files, he shows the seriousness with which the Hindustani Ghadar Party's activities were considered by the British. He argues that other scholars focused on the ill-planned military expedition and because of its failure, never focused on the Hindustani Ghadar Party as a serious political issue. After reviewing the British Intelligence files, Dignan believes that the British were indeed extremely frightened of what the Indian expatriates would be able to accomplish in
America. Moreover, Brown argues that the ability of British Indian subjects to become naturalized American citizens, and thus out of reach of the crown government, was viewed as a political catastrophe by the British. He also combs through the Foreign
9 Giles T. Brown, "The Hindu Conspiracy, 1914-1917," The Pacific Historical Review, 17:3 (1948): 299. 10
Office files in order to determine that although the British pressed the United States
government for years, it was only after the diplomatic rupture with Imperial Germany that America was ready to appease it's new British allies with arrests and trial.
American historical interest in the Hindustani Ghadar Party continued into the early 1980's. Mark Juergensmeyer's, "The Gadar Syndrome: Ethnic Anger and
Nationalist Pride," published in 1981 in the Population Review, presents a thorough analysis of the Hindustani Ghadar Party's genesis. 10 Juergensmeyer explains the motivations of the Ghadar Party and elucidates the connection between the immigration experience and the increased sense of nationalism for the Indian expatriates. He argues that the Hindustani Ghadar Party served as an outlet for the anger immigrant Indians felt
in America and subsequently the Hindustani Ghadar Party transformed this anger and humiliation into pride. Indians were not the only immigrants who reacted this way in
America, and Juergensmeyer argues that other expatriate political movements were caused by the same set of issues.
Joan Jensen authored the most complete and integrated history of the Hindustani
Ghadar Party by an American scholar. Writing numerous articles about Hindustani
Ghadar Party issues, including a biography about Annette Abbot Addams, the first assistant female Attorney General and second chair in the San Francisco federal trial that helped convict many of the Ghadar Party members in 1917-1918, Jensen showed in depth knowledge of Indian immigration to America in her publication, Passage from
10 Mark Juergensmeyer, "The Gadar Syndrome: Ethnic Anger and Nationalist Pride," Population Review, 25: (1981) 46-60. 11
India. An extremely well documented analysis oflndian immigration to North America,
it offers a comprehensive synthesis of the Indian immigrant experience focusing on
North America. For example, Jensen explains how the roots of the Indian communities
in America took hold and how the Hindustani Ghadar Party was a result of the
immigrant experience. She argues that the Hindustani Ghadar Party illuminated the
cultural and political climate of America during a crucial time in its history. She also
touches on how Indian immigration initiated political changes in America. Unlike other
western authors, Jensen does not, however, view the Hindustani Ghadar Party within the
framework of the American experience solely. While her emphasis is on the immigration
experience, she describes the effects of immigration on a worldwide scale.
Indo-American Scholars Recently, a new generation of scholars, born or predominantly raised in America
but of South Asian descent, has accessed the University of California at Berkeley and
San Bruno archives on the Hindustani Ghadar Party. Their focus, unlike their Indian
predecessors, is not on the military aspects of the failed revolution; nor does it lie with the immigrant experience itself. Rather, the focus is on the literary and theoretical
characteristics of the Hindustani Ghadar Party and how these characteristics influenced the Indian expatriate society.
The first of these works is Jane Singh's Echoes ofRevolution: The Role of
Literature in the Gadar Movement. Filed in 1990 as a dissertation at the University of
California, Berkeley, Echoes ofRevolution elucidates the poetic literature of the
supposedly "illiterate" Ghadarites and postulates that Hindustani Ghadar Party poetry 12 created and reinforced a national identity to the diverse religious Indian population. 11
Singh specifically concentrates on "Gadar di Goonj," a work of poetry published by the
Hindustani Ghadar Party. The poetry contained literary forms "drawn from long and popular traditions of the region [Punjab] while rhetorical terms used in the compositions reiterated themes which emphasized the commonalities ofculture and heritage." 12 In other words, Hindustani Ghadar Party poetry itself acted as a glue to bond together the
Indian Diaspora. Singh initiated the discussion of the link between Hindustani Ghadar
Party literature and national identity.
Most recently, Maia Ramnath from University of California, Santa Cruz, has published an article in Radical Left Review on the Hindustani Ghadar Party entitled,
"Two Revolutions: The Ghadar Movement and India's Radical Diaspora, 1913-1918." 13
Essentially, she states that the Hindustani Ghadar Party did not begin as one entity, but existed as the fusion of at least two different groups. Citing Gramsci' s terminology of organic intellectuals, Ramnath depicts the Hindustani Ghadar Party as two movements the first rising from the leftist intellectual elite, and the second, a more durable one, emerging after the failure of Ghadar in India. Ramnath argues that the second revolution was based on Punjab intellectualism that morphed into the presently recognized Marxist version that still exists in India today. 14 She determines that the multitude of immigrant
11 Jane Singh, "Echoes of Revolution: The Role of Literature in the Gadar Movement." (PhD diss., University of California, Berkeley, I 990), I 12 Jane Singh, "Echoes of Revolution" 2. 13 Maia Alyssa Ramnath, "Two Revolutions: The Ghadar Movement and India's Radical Diaspora, 1913-1918" Radical Left Review. 92 (2005): 7-30. 14 Maia Alyssa Ramnath, "Two Revolutions," 9. 13 experiences led to a plurality of backgrounds, religious traditions, and identities, which, in turn, created an extremely complex group that cannot be viewed as one cohesive entity.
This thesis, "'New Era': The Political Perceptions ofthe Hindustani Ghadar
Party" builds on the works ofthese previous scholars. Like recent western and Indo
American scholars, I take only a peripheral interest in the military aspects of the
Hindustani Ghadar Party. I believe the immigrant experiences play a decisive role in formation ofthe Hindustani Ghadar Party. I do not focus on what the Hindustani
Ghadar Party did, but rather, their beliefs and ideology and how the organization evolved in America. This thesis analyzes three particular time periods in the life of the
Hindustani Ghadar Party, looking at the political perceptions of its members and leaders in order to ascertain the diachronic evolution ofthe movement and ideology. 14
Chapter 2
THE PRE-WAR YEARS: 1910-1917
Immigration and Racism
The seeds that formed the Hindustani Ghadar Party came from two separate but entwined experiences: the act of immigration and the ensuing racism encountered in the new setting. These two issues separately influenced critical aspects of the formation and longevity ofthe Hindustani Ghadar Party, and both issues would eventually play into the political perceptions of the Hindustani Ghadar Party. The one thing all members had in common was that they had each originally emigrated from India. Yet, in particular, they came from two different groups, Hindus and Sikhs; and each group came to America for different purposes.
The majority of Indian immigrants to America prior to 1907 were members of the Hindu religion. Hindus who left India for America usually did so to enhance educational opportunity at large urban universities-an opportunity not available to them in India. 15 Indeed, it was most likely these students entered the American lexicon as
"hindoos", the North American misnomer for anyone of south Asian descent. As a group, they were more educated and came from wealthier families than the Indians to follow.
15 Harold Jacoby, "Some Demographic and Social Aspects of Early East Indian Life in the United States," Sikh Studies: Comparative Perspectives on a Changing Tradition. Working papers from the Berkeley Conference on Sikh Studies. Mark Juergensmeyer and N. Gerald Barrier eds.( Berkeley: Graduate Theological Union, 1979), 161. 15
In 1907 the number of migrated Indian immigrants to America quadrupled and the majority of those who landed on North American soil were Sikh. 16 Forced to emigrate by a wide spread Punjabi famine and because of new British land taxation programs, the destination for the newest immigrants was not the universities, but the lumberyards and agricultural fields of Oregon and California in order to work as laborers. 17
The intention of Sikhs immigrating into North America mirror those of other groups who came to America for a short period of time: they simply wanted to earn money and return to their homeland. Early Sikh immigrants of the 1850's, almost exclusively men, were members of the British military stationed in Canada during the
Queen's silver jubilee who witnessed Canadian economic freedom and recorded their admiration through letters sent to family in India. During the ensuing Punjabi famine cycles in 1880's and 1890's, thousands of Sikh men, remembering the letters of their brothers, uncles, and fathers, traveled to North America in the 1900's in search of the economic opportunity described.
Sikhism played an incalculable role in the immigration of Indians to North
America. The British Empire originally supported and encouraged Sikhs to join the army, and they encouraged the local army to be Sikh because the British believed that the Sikh religion encouraged loyalty-an especially important feature to the indigenous
16 Ibid. 17 Ibid. 16
army of a colonial power. Specific Sikh beliefs were enforced by British officers 18 and
as new recruits filled the ranks of the army, they too changed identification from
Hinduism to Sikhism. Indeed, the 37 percent growth ofthose in Punjab claiming to be
Sikh between the ten year period of 1901 and 1911 indicates shifting identification to
Sikhism. 19 Moreover, the growth rate transformed Sikhism organizationally; such ajump
in adherents demanded structuralization of the religion. A hierarchical community organization called the Singh Sabhas enforced cohesion within the Sikh religion20-it essentially created an understanding of Sikhism as the primary identification for a person. The Sikh Sabhas networks which had helped with the journey abroad for the thousands of Sikhs who immigrated also led to the development ofthe Chief Khalsa
Diwan societies in North America, primarily in Vancouver and Stockton Califomia.21
The Khalsa Diwan formed a vital link between Vancouver, Stockton, and Punjab since communication between the triangle kept those in India appraised of issues in North
America and kept the Indian diaspora informed of issues in British India.22
The Khalsa Diwan, serving as an overarching coordinating body for the Singh
Sabhas, began to agitate politically for specific issues facing Sikhs in Punjab. They published newspapers, encouraged literacy and within the first decades ofthe twentieth
18 Joan Jensen, Passage From India: Asian Indian Immigrants in North America, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988), 8. 19 Harjot Oberoi's The Construction ofReligious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994) elucidates this point in depth. Richard Fox's The Lions ofPunjab also explains more of the construction ofthe Sikh identity. 20 Jensen, Passage, 9. 21 Jensen, Passage, 25-27. 22 Jensen, Passage, 179-180. 17
century, members as well as the leadership ofthis organization began to.immigrate to the
west coast ofNorth America.23
The backdrop of Sikh reform is an important one to consider in analyzing the
Hindustani Ghadar Party in America. Most Ghadar Party members were Sikh, and many
had come from the rural parts of Punjab where the new organizational standards were
most prevalent. Indeed, this movement within Sikhism to purify itself was a response to
Arya Sama} Hindu reform movement that labeled Sikhism as a sect of Hinduism led by
"pretenders."24 To such accusations, the Sikh reform movement clarified and solidified
what Sikhism meant, and in this vein responded to Hindu attacks by purging remnants of
Hinduism from Sikh discourse and action.25 The strained interaction between Sikhs and
Hindus traveled to North America with the Hindu and Sikh immigrants, and
subsequently, to the Hindustani Ghadar Party.
Problems within Punjab such as plague and famine led to earnest political
agitation by the newly organized Sikh community. It was from this population of Sikhs
that the majority of immigrants moved to North America, predominantly due to famines
in India during the mid to late nineteenth century. At least 1.25 million people starved to
death in Punjab during the year 1878-1879 alone. 26 The fresh memories of the Sepoy
Rebellion failure as well as the punishment meted out to those who rebelled had
23 Jensen, Passage, 8-9. 24 Darshan Singh Tatla, The Sikh Diaspora, The Search for Statehood, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999), 17. 25 Ibid. 26 Mike Davis, Late Victorian Holocaust: El Nino Famines and the Making ofthe Third World (London: Verso 2002), 51. 18 coalesced in the collective heart of many Indians and had the effect of dissuading riots during famine stricken times. 27 Instead, those who lived through the famines, lured by the stories of Sikh military officers, immigrated to North America in order to escape
British taxes, famine, and to earn enough to maintain the family's land holdings.28
Although Indian women almost never migrated with their male family, Jensen maintained that family ties were rarely strained since Indian males were following a well established pattern of emigration from certain Punjab districts.29 The Sikh networks established by the Khalsa Diwan and Singh Sabha allowed Sikhs a haven in many places along their immigration route where other Indian immigrants had none.30 The familiarity of temple services, food and brotherhood, eased travel anxiety. The Hong
Kong Sikh Temple provided essential respite, for emigrants sometimes remained there as long as a month before they could book passage to North America.31
Economic opportunity also brought the Chinese and Japanese to American shores. Nativists attempted and succeeded in limiting Chinese and Japanese immigration. The anti-Asiatic leagues of the era were particularly vehement against
Chinese immigration and demanded Chinese exclusion from the United States because they were seen as especially unable to blend into American society.32 The Japanese too, were restricted in America, particularly the western United States. American novels
27 Davis, Late Victorian Holocaust, 54. 28 Jensen, Passage, 25. 29 Ibid. 30 Jensen, Passage, 26. 31 Jensen, Passage, 27. 32 George J. Sanchez, Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945(New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 95. 19
published just four years prior to the United States entry into the First World War,
terrified west-coast readers with tales of possible Japanese invasion. When Japanese
fisherman attempted to lease part of a bay in Baja California, the papers sensationalized
the story by linking the action to imagined plots of Japanese annexation for purposes of
building a navy base off the California coast. 33 Immigration official Hart Hyatt North
was ridiculed by the San Francisco Call for being an "idol of Chinatown,"34 but it was
not until a year later when there was a prevalence ofAsian Indian immigration under his
watch that he was forced to resign. 35
Nativist rhetoric and political action increased dramatically in the West just prior to and during World War 1. 36 The tension between business and labor interests
intensified at this time, just as immigration from Asia was increasing and the Asian
immigrants were caught in the middle. Simon Lubin, head of the California Commission
on Immigration and Housing, attempted to assist immigrants in preserving their cultures
only to see his work constricted by the increased nativism of the World War I era. "Big
business took an interest in Americanization, as leaders sought a method to combat radicalism among foreign-born workers. "37
Indians were few in number compared to other Asian groups, but the rapid influx of Indians quickly initiated them into the next generation of immigrants to become the
33 Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, (New York: Random House, 200 I), 314. 34 Erika Lee, At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration During the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943, (Chapel Hill, University ofNorth Carolina Press, 2003), 72. 35 Ibid. 36 John Higham, Strangers in the Land: Patterns ofAmerican Nativism, 1860-1925, 174 37 Sanchez, Becoming Mexican American, 94. 20 recipients of anti-Asian hostility in America. Not only were they considered the least desirable of all Asians, but by 1914, California representative Denver Church campaigned for complete exclusion of "Hindus" from America. 38 Church was convinced that India's large population was poised and ready to immigrate to the United
States in order to bring "their superstitious and backward culture" to America. 39
Particularly targeted were the Sikhs-easily identifiable by their distinct religious adornment-including the turban. Already bristling from Chinese and Japanese immigration, the "Tide of Turbans" became more than many could bear. This codified racist climate played a crucial role in the formation of the Hindustani Ghadar Party in
California by the Indian diaspora.
In Canada, living conditions for Indian immigrants were extraordinarily poor in comparison to native Canadians, yet most found work in lumber mills immediately after landing. The lumber mill owners readily hired Indian workers since many workers of
European descent were organizing.40 However, the media began carrying headlines such as, "Horde of Hungry Hindoos Invade Vancouver City: Starving Coolies Roam the
Streets, Menace to women and Children."41 By 1906, hostility against the Indians in
British Columbia began to take definitive shape as social and economic discrimination shuttled Indians into ghettos in Vancouver. Those who had funds couldn't always
38 Gary R. Hess, "The 'Hindu' in America: Immigration and Naturalization Policies and India, 1917-1946" in Pacific Historical Review 38: (1969): 62. 39 Hess, "The 'Hindu' in America," 63. 40 Jensen, Passage, 28. 41 Doreen M. Indra, "South Asian Stereotypes in the Vancouver Press" Ethnic and Racial Studies, referenceing Vancouver World 1 September 1906 pp 168. 21
purchase what they needed; even the Canadian immigration inspector observed, "It is a
shame these Hindus are treated as they have been. They all have money in their pockets
to pay for whatever they get, but the trouble is they can't get it."42 Still, the mayor of
Vancouver wrote the premier of Canada stating the "city of Vancouver will not stand for
any further dumping ofEast Indians here. Mass meeting called to consider active
preventative measures unless definite authoritative assurance received that government
has prohibited importation of these undesirable immigrants."43
By 1907, Indians were disenfranchised from elections in the Canadian provinces,
and anti-Asian parades took place such as the one termed a "bumper anti-brownie
parade" by the Vancouver Daily Province.44 The racism in Canada directly tied to the
advent of Ghadar Party in America. Most Sikhs who immigrated did so initially
preferred Canada, another part of the British Empire. However, immigration from India to Canada sparked blatant racism against the Indian-riots, media depictions and ultimately legislative action against Indians ( culminating in the Komagata Maru affair) pushed Indians into the United States. As things became less tolerable, it was easy for
Indians to travel across the border to the United States, attempting to find work; however, only 21 % of Americans at the time desired Indians as co-workers. 45
Characteristics that alienated Indian workers from other workers were the same as those which made Indians extremely appealing to employers, namely Indian worker
42 Alexander Munro, in Jensen, Passage, 61. 43 Jensen, Passage, 63. 44 Jensen, Passage, 66. 45 Gary R. Hess, America Encounters India, 1941-1947, (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, I97 l), 8. 22
refusal to adopt European work attitudes.46 Mill owners, happy to pay less for quality
labor commented: "you find a lot of people who kick because some of us hire orientals
but I can't see any reason why we shouldn't because they are good men and mind their
own business. It's mostly only floaters and agitators who complain, anyway."47 Word
spread quickly about these jobs and Indians migrated into the United States, and
hundreds of Indian workers surfaced in_ the lumber mills and logging camps of Oregon,
Washington, and California. Most Indians were able to procure work almost
immediately upon landing in Canada or America while American laborers believed
cheaper Indian labor was undermining unionization. Beginning in November of 1906, the American consul in Vancouver received a complaint from a man in Chico,
California, regarding the rapidly growing Indian immigrant population.48 The consul
wrote to the United States State Department: "Decided steps are being taken by the local
labor unions, to stop this immigration, but of course the matter is much complicated as most of these men are British subjects, and many of them have served in the British army."49 The issue of national origin became mixed with race and labor issues.
Economically however, lumber work continued to support Indians well, although labor unions fought the Asian presence and economic issues perpetuated the race problem
against Indians.
46 Jensen, Passage, IO. 47 Jensen, Passage, 30. 48 Jensen, Passage, 53. 49 Jensen, Passage, 16. 23
By the fall of 1907, several hundred Indians had arrived in the Bellingham,
Washington area, and most mills had employed a few of the new immigrants by that
time.50 The Bellingham riots began, ironically, the day before Labor Day 1907 when
several Indians were beaten in defense of "white womanhood."51 Union workers
targeted Labor Day as day after which no asians could be employed at the mill. When
Indians showed up at work anyway, several instances of violence took place. By
nightfall, five hundred mob participants sped down to the area were the Indians lived,
"Battering down the doors, the mob threw belongings into the street, pocketed money
and jewelery,(sic) and dragged Indians from their beds. The Indians fled, some injuring
themselves by jumping from buildings in an attempt to escape."52 By morning 200
Indians were "protected" in city hall from the rioters. Many left the next day for other
opportunities, gathering what few belongings they could. But in Seattle, as some
Bellingham refugees boarded a steamship, "passengers seized the men and pushed them
down the gangplank, threw one over the rail onto the pier, and left them all there to
spend the night in the cold."53 Indians continued to move south to California, including
the city of Live Oak, just outside of Marysville, where yet another riot took place. The
Indians were robbed of nearly $2,000 but when it came to prosecuting the vigilantes, the judge admonished the Indians for ostensibly overcrowding their houses. In response, the
50 Jensen, Passage, 29-30. 51 Jensen, Passage, 45. 52 Jensen, Passage, 46. 53 Jensen, Passage, 49. 24
Sacramento Bee quipped, "All is quiet today and there will be no more trouble if the
Hindus keep away."54
The violence continued throughout California. Indians beat attackers with ax handles when police would not stop the assailants in Woodland; in Fair Oaks, Indian men were driven from their homes by men wielding pistols and wagon spokes. 55 Signs routinely advertised, "No Dogs or Indians Allowed."56 Although each incident was precipitated under a racist guise, the economic issues which arose from Asian immigrant
labor cannot be ignored. Samuel Gompers, who later tried to defend Ghadar Party participants, accused those who defended "oriental labor" as collaborating with the
National Association of Manufacturers. 57
By 1910, all the economic tension led to a pandemic ofracist acts against the
Indians in North America. Riots against Indian immigrants took place in towns along the western coast of North America-from Vancouver, British Columbia to Bellingham,
Washington to Live Oak, California.
54 Sacramento Bee, January 27, 1908, 7: 1 in Jensen, Passage, 54. 55 Jensen, Passage, 54-55. 56 Sohan Singh Josh, Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna:- life ofthe Founder ofthe Ghadar Party, (New Delhi: People's Pub. House, 1970) 18. 57 Jensen, Passage, 50. 25
I ·~ HINDUS DRIVEN OUT. I: : cru.z.ena at ·MaryavlUo, c·.,.;- Attack I• . Them-Brltlah .Consul Informed. MARYSVILLE, Cal., .Jan. 27.-Twent'T clUgena ot Llve,,Ou Saturday nJabt ~ t, tacked two houae111 oecupted bJ''"· ■even~· 'j Hindus who bad been dlscha.rse4 from the Soutlforn.• Paci'rtc Cempany · an.4• 01'- . dered the Hlndus· to l~ve. town. . The Hindus 'a7ere'.••drlvtto to the edge:·of tbe town a.rid told to trav-..;:L One w.nt to . auM City aricl 11wo~ to compl&1Dts 1 l cha.r,;tng -the m~mtiers ot the ·mob wtth Iet-Un.r t1.9;;o. They a.Ls<> toollt t.be Ca.ff i [0 the B'rrulh. Consul ~t Sa..n Fr&nclsco. j AMERICANS Put to FLIGHT." Tho Ry.a·r Ex~cc'liUon lnto Congo' WIida ~rlveri Out by Natlv.._ BRt:SSELS. .Ja.n. %7.-Advicea h&,re be~
Figure 1: Hindus Driven Out The New York Times article reports Marysville citizens attacked "Hindu" bunkhouses and drove seventy "Hindus" from town. As British subjects, the Indians who were attacked applied for help with the British Consul in San Francisco. From The New York Times, January 28, 1908, accessed on April 7, 2005 from http:/lwww. lib. berkeley. edu/SSEAL/echoes/chapter4/chapter4 2. html
Slowly, the Sikh Indian laborers began to move into jobs which had few white competitors, and less likelihood of labor organizations, namely those that were agricultural. The labor issues which plagued Indians in Canada and the pacific northwest subsided as Indians settled for agricultural jobs. Similar to their home in
Punjab, the Central valley of California provided ample opportunity for the immigrants to use their knowledge of the land in order to grow fruits and vegetables and their reputation as competitors became legendary. A San Joaquin Delta worker stated, "the 26 hindu resembles us except that he is .black-and we are shocked to see a black white man_,,ss
Anti-Asian hostilities such as the Bellingham riots in Washington, were just one of many directed specifically to Indians. Like other new immigrant groups, the Indians encountered racism - racism based upon their perceived racial inferiority but also discrimination based upon their position as subject people of an Empire. The racism they encountered was not just due to skin color, national origin, or religion as was the case of many other groups. Rather, the reaction of the American public led many Indian immigrants to believe that it was their situation as subject peoples of the British empire which underlined their racist treatment. 59 When they realized that they would not be given fair treatment as British subjects within America, Indian immigrants began to agitate for homeland independence hoping that it would help them achieve a better profile and less harassment in America.
Soon, the Indians began to agitate politically in the United States much to the consternation of the British. Although, the British squirmed with American criticism of their imperial goals, they became more comfortable as the United States began extending itself to the Philippines, Cuba, and Hawaii. When Indian nationalists arrived in the
United States, there was some British concern that they would attempt to foster sympathy for Indian independence from the general public, although America was, by this time also an imperialist nation. What the British did not expect was that the racism
58 Jensen, Passage, 39 59 Jensen, Passage,40- 44 27 encountered by the Indians in the United States would galvanize them to attempt an armed rebellion to oust the British from Indian soil. What the Indians did not expect was that although they would eventually garner much sympathy for their homeland's plight, the United States would eventually tum its back on them.
IA Ne~ Problem 'for Uncle S~inJ
Figure 2: A New Problem for Uncle Sam By 1910, most Indian immigrants to the United States were Sikh, and those Sikhs who wore a turban usually wore a beard. Following the mistake of labeling all Indians "Hindu," this cartoon depicts the nature of United States and British racial policy towards Indians. It additionally shows that Indians were effectively the pawns of both British and American governments. From the San Francisco Call, August 13, 1910, accessed April 5, 2005 from http://www. lib. berkeley. edu/SSEAL/echoes/chapter4/chapter4_ 1. html
The riot in Live Oak became a turning point for the formation ofthe Hindustani
Ghadar Party. Since the Indians who were attacked were British subjects, they appealed 28 to the British Consul in San Francisco. 60 The consulate refused to assist the injured
Indian parties, and the Indians saw for the first time that nobody was willing to defend them against attack. Indians had left India to gain a semblance ofeconomic freedom and yet were forced to the British for help-and the British were unwilling. The influence of the British on the United States had a direct impact on the treatment of Asian Indians at the time. Although India was under British dominion, its subjects were not viewed as proper British subjects by Americans but rather as more a conquered people, and Indian residents of America could only tum to an unhelpful British consulate for protection within America.
Formation of Ghadar Ideology It became clear to at least one Indian expatriate that the Indians would have to take their safety and defense into their own hands. Lala Hardayal, a lecturer of Sanskrit and Indian philosophy at Stanford University, and recent American immigrant, began to see a connection between racism in America and British subjugation in India. He believed that Americans would never treat Indians well until Britain left India as a free country. As an Oxford educated Historian with an additional Master's Degree in English
Literature, Hardayal discovered that a British education schooled him in the ideals of
Indian nationalism and became appalled by British subjugation of India. 61 During the summer of 1912, his interest in revolution started to coalesce and blossom as he wrote
60 New York Times, January 28, 1908. Accessed on April 7, 2005 from http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/SSEAL/echoes/chapter4/chapter4_2.html. 61 Harish Puri, Ghadar Movement: Ideology, Organisation, and Strategy, (Amritsar : Guru Nanak Dev University, 1993), 55. 29 articles on various movements, including that of the Industrial Workers of the World
(IWW),62 and he sought to be a mentor to other Indian immigrants in America. With the belief that Indians in America would be treated respectfully only after India was free, he inaugurated the Hindustani Ghadar Party.
As a lecturer at Stanford University, Hardayal interacted with the intellectual urban Hindu Indian immigrants on a regular basis and was thus able to speak to them about the growing discontent in India over British rule. He used his affiliation with
Stanford University as well as University of California at Berkeley to recruit the brightest Indian students into his fledgling nationalist cause and the Hindustani Ghadar
Party in particular. 63 He became so popular on campus that the Daily Californian even published regular editorials on his lectures given at U.C. Berkeley's Stile Hall.64
Initially, Hardayal' s ideology stemmed from his belief in Pan-Hinduism as a solution to the ills of both Indians abroad and in British India. Hardayal believed that anti-imperialist ideas came from colonized intellectuals, such as himself. Indeed,
Hardayal himself was formally educated in history at St. Johns College, Oxford. 65
However, after studying British documents relating to India, he came to believe that the
British were not simply subjugating India, but that the British were also attempting to destroy Hinduism itself. Hinduism existed as a historical entity in India; it successfully
62 Harish Puri, Ghadar Movement 57. 63 Janice R and Stephen R. Mackinnon, Agnes Smedley: The Life and Times ofan American Radical, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), 37-38. 64 Gobind Behari Lal, Notes on the Gadar at UC. Berkeley, (Berkeley: no publication date), May 9, 1973. 65 Lala Har Dayal, Writings ofLala Hardayal,(Benares: Swarag Publishing House, 1923), i 30
resisted incursions from Islam and Buddhism. To Hardayal, Hinduism existed as India's
history and future and as such refused to associate with "Mahomadans and Christians,"66
and he believed in the abandonment of everything western in order to gain
independence.
His study of history also led him to believe that India had several "historical"
stages to conquer in order to attain independence. 67 Hardayal believed the fighting
between Sikh and Hindu in India was to be expected because it was a developmental and historical stage that Indians must pass through in order to reach the higher levels of civilization.68
Naming the expatriate nationalist group "Hindustani Ghadar Party," Hardayal linked this organization historically to the "Great Ghadar"--the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857.
His choice of title for the fledgling organization was symbolic. In Hardayal's view, his new group was a continuation of the Sepoy rebellion, and the Ghadar Party's purpose was the same-to throw out the British from India.69 When Hardayal analyzed the Sepoy rebellion's failure, he like others, believed that the failure of the Sepoy Rebellion, was due to the lack of patriotism in Sikhs serving in the British Indian regiments, which led to their unwillingness to revolt against the British. Sikh regiments that did not revolt
66 Hardayal, Writings ofLala Hardayal, ii. 67 Lala Hardayal, New Era, "Independence and Destruction" September I, I 9 I 4. Unpublished manuscri~t found at Desh Bhagat Yagdar, Jullunder, Punjab India. 8 Hardayal, "India and the World Movement" Writings ofLala Hardayal, 155 69 Deol, The Role ofthe Ghadar Party in the National Movement, 57-58. 31
eventually helped the British to squash other Bengali revolting military units in 1857. 70
Hardayal and other Indians believed the Sikh regiments constituted the only cause of the
Sepoy rebellion failure. 71
The inclusion of Sikhs in the Hindustani Ghadar Party came during discussions
in the first meeting ofthe organization when the members lamented the failure of the
Sepoy Rebellion. Initially, Hardayal and other members only envisioned indoctrinating
educated Indians enrolled at large American universities.72 However, it became apparent
that the large population of the California central valley farm workers would be
important for support of the cause. During a gathering in Astoria, Oregon, one Hindu
member, Jitendra Lahiri, suggested Sikhs be included in the Ghadar Party. Initially
reluctant, Hardayal saw the pragmatic implications of including Sikhs within the
movement. 73
Within a month after this [meeting] Lala Hardayal went to meet and address the Punjabee labourers in California State. He spoke about the necessity for the formation of the new Ghadar Party for overthrowing British imperialism in India. He pointed out to these brave men about the miserable part played by their grandfathers in the last war of Indian independence,[Sepoy Rebellion] and the necessity for their wiping out that stigma and establish (sic) India's independence. 74
70 D Chenchiah, Heritage Bulletin ofthe History Sub-Committee ofthe Desh Bhagat Yagdar Committee. "The Ghadar Party: Reminiscences, Part I Birth ofthe Ghadar Movement.", July 23, 1996. 8 71 D. Chenchia, Heritage Bulletin Sub-Committee ofthe Desh Bhagat Yadhar Committee, No. 3, July 23, 1996, 8. 72 Deol, The Role ofthe Ghadar Party in the National Movement, 57. Bhai Parmanand, The Story ofmy Life, 1934, 62. 73 D. Chenchia, Heritage Bulletin, July 23, 1996, 8. 74 D. Chenchia, Heritage Bulletin, July 23, 1996, 8. 32
With the inclusion of Sikhs in the Hindustani Ghadar Party, two issues were resolved. First, Hardayal knew that Sikhs were the largest group of Indians in north
America at the time. 75 Their economic and military support would be crucial to the success of any revolution. Secondly and perhaps most importantly, Hardayal saw history as a series of stages or phases; each stage had a problem that needed to be solved in order to attain the next stage. 76 A prior phase included the Sepoy rebellion-which failed largely due to Sikh unwillingness to rebel. That problem could easily be solved within the Ghadar Party by the inclusion of Sikh rebels. Hardayal worked with intellectuals in the university system and hoped that with his guidance as well as with the Sikh insurgency, a Muslim, Hindu, Sikh unity would result in a successful revolution for the
Hindustani Ghadar Party. 77
Being based in the United States, Lala Hardayal believed that he was out of reach of the British authorities and would be able to stir agitation without British intervention.78 Seeing America as a "Safe Haven," he journeyed there and found the
Sikhs receptive to his ideas, especially as rampant racism and economic discrimination had soured their viewpoint of America. Indeed, Indians in America not only had to contend with the knowledge that Americans saw the "Hindu" as the most undesirable of the foreigners to come to America, but also with the fact that many Americans-
75 D. Chenchah, Heritage Bulletin ofthe History Sub-Committee ofthe Desh Bhagat Yagdar Committee. "The Ghadar Party: Reminiscences, Part I Birth of the Ghadar Movement.", July 23, 1966, 7. 76 Lala Hardayal, New Era, "Independence and Destruction" September 1, 1914. Unpublished manuscrif,t found at Desh Bhagat Yagdar, Jullunder, Punjab India. 7 Emily Brown, Har Dayal, Hindu revolutionary and rationalist 78 D. Chenchah, Heritage "The Ghadar Party: Reminiscences, Part I Birth of the Ghadar Movement," July 23, 1966, 7. 33 prominent Americans-were vehemently anti-imperialist. 79 And yet, the British were allowed to extend their imperialist influence to the Indians within America via surveillance.80 The Ghadarites were mistakenly under the impression that British
Imperialism had been left behind and that they were free to make political statements without fear of reprisal. In fact, some criticized Hardayal as a coward, stating that making speeches thousands of miles away from British India was hardly brave.81
Hardayal himself came under surveillance in early 1913 by the British government. 82
His surveillance was a direct link to the influence of the British on America. W.C.
Hopkinson, the primary British agent watching Hardayal, attended Hardayal' s speeches and lectures. 83 After hearing Hopkinson's reports, the British Ambassador asked the
U.S. State Department to intervene and, thus, United States immigration officials began to attend Hardayal' s lectures as well. Hardayal was considered a severe threat because he openly stated that the bomb assassination attempt against Lord Harding was due to one of his own followers. 84
Fortuitously, in the months immediately preceding the Hindustani Ghadar Party inaugural meetings, the Pacific Coast Khalsa Diwan (Free Divine Communion) Society
79Gary R. Hess, "The 'Hindu' in America," 62. 80 Gary R. Hess, America Encounters India, 7-8. 81 D. Chenchah, Heritage Bulletin "The Ghadar Party: Reminiscences, Part I Birth of the Ghadar Movement.", July 23, 1966, 7. 82 Hugh Johnston, "The Surveillance of Indian Nationalists in North America, 1908-1918" in British Columbia Studies 78: (1988). 13. 83 Ibid. 84 Hugh Johnston, "The Surveillance oflndian Nationalists," 15. 34 was incorporated in the State of California on May 27, 1912.85 The organization commenced construction on the first American Sikh temple in Stockton, California and it was completed a year later. At the Sikh temple in Stockton, early Ghadar newsletters were disseminated, including one asking individuals to meet in Sacramento, California on New Year's Eve, 1913.
Figure 3: First Sikh Temple in the United States, Circ. 1912 Stockton, California
Sohan Singh Bhakna, a well-respected Sikh immigrant, and Lala Hardayal launched the Hindustani Ghadar Party in Sacramento, California on December 31,
85 Free Divine Communion Society, Articles of Incorporation, Free Divine Communion Society, 1912. 35
1913 86 at the home of Shih Dyal, a new transplant to Sacramento from Victoria, British
Columbia.87 Bhakna easily won election as President and subsequently appointed Lala
Hardayal as the editor-in-chief of all Hindustani Ghadar Party publications, including its newsletter, Ghadar.
The Ghadarites listed three points in their official resolution that was ratified at the first meetings in Astoria, Oregon in April 1913, and Sacramento in December 1913.
The first point was to liberate India from British rule through an armed insurrection; second, self-government based upon western ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity; and third, to establish a social order in India which would benefit the greatest number of people. 88
Hardayal's influence on the political ideology of the Hindustani Ghadar Party was widespread. He believed that violence was a viable answer to the tyranny the British imposed on India. The bylaws of the Hindustani Ghadar Party clearly stated that the first order of business was to liberate India from British rule through an armed insurrection.
Interestingly, although he resolved to abandon everything deemed western, he supported western ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity. 89
86 D. Chenchiah, Heritage Bulletin "The Ghadar Party: Reminiscences, Part I Birth of the Ghadar Movement," July 23, 1996, 5. 87 Information Sheet for John Preston, Attorney General on all associated with Ghadar. NARA Selected Records Relating to the Indian (Hindu) Independence Movement in the United States, 1908-1933 MS1868, Roll #2. Shib Dyal's address was 204 L Street, Sacramento and was named, "Bande Mataram House." 88 Deol, The Role ofthe Ghadar Party in the National Movement, 66. 89 Partha Chatterjee's Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World-A Derivative Discourse analyzes the course of nationalist thought in India.Chatterjee states, "The national was not always secular and modem, the popular and democratic quite often traditional and even fanatically anti-modem.", 23. It 36
Deciding upon San Francisco as the center of activity suited many objectives, namely that Hardayal's residence and work were located nearby, and the majority of
Indians were located in California's central valley, only a short distance from San
Francisco. Additionally, San Francisco was a major port and functioned as a gateway for many other revolutionary movements, such as those from Ireland, China, and Russia.
90 The Ghadar newsletter did not overtly respond to the discriminatory climate in
California ~ut tapped into diasporatic frustration about the discrimination against
Indians-whether in Canada, America, or India.
Initially, Hardayal influenced Ghadar by focusing on military aspects of fighting the British. For instance, the November 1, 1913, inaugural issue ofthe Ghadar included the following advertisement:
Wanted---Brave soldiers to stir up Ghadar in India; Pay--Death Prize--Martyrdom Pension--Liberty Field of battle--lndia91
Additionally, the Hindustani Ghadar Party work of poetry, Ghadr di Goonj, published in
1913, stated:
Time for Prayer is gone, Take the sword in hand. Time is now to plunge in a battle, Mere talk serves no purpose, Those who long for martyrdom, Will live forever as shining guideposts. 92 seems that Hardayal, although employing modem "western" standards for social construction, was also conflicted and believed he had to abandon the outward trappings of western society. 90 Deol, The Role ofthe Ghadar Party in the National Movement, 71. 91 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Ghadar, First Gurmurkhi Edition, November I, 1913. 37
Hardayal 's words showed that violence was the only option for the Ghadar Party
members. Interestingly, again, he included western ideas of liberty in his writing. He
also adopts some Sikh scriptural military references within his writing.93 This is not by
accident-if he indeed needed to recruit Sikhs, it would be clever to include literary references nearly identical to some found in Sikh scriptures. With Sikhs ready to react
violently to their American treatment, references to historical Sikh oppression dovetailed
nicely with Ghadar essays.
Hardayal also attempted to establish unity between differing religious factions within the Ghadar Party with poems such as "Echoes of Mutiny." The Hindustani
Ghadar Party's diverse membership necessitated a kind of secularism in order to ignite the religious passions of each religious group within it. Since Hardayal did not want
Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim differences to destroy the organization, he used the poetry of
Ghadar Di Goonj in order to bring all under the umbrella of revolution by showing that religious infighting had indeed hurt the people of India.
We do not need Pandits and Kazis For we do not want our ship to be sunk The time for prayer and recitation is gone; the hour for Raising the sword has arrived ... You have indulged excessively in sectarian conflict, And neglected the interest of the nation. In your simplicity, you have ignorantly raised disputes
92 Tatla, The Sikh Diaspora, 89. 93 Compare poem referenced from Ghadar di Goon}, with Sikh scriptures Zafar-nama, stanza 22, Dasam Granth "Chu Kar az hamah hllate dar guzasat; halal asatu buradan ba samaser dasat. "("When all other means have failed, it is righteous to unsheath the sword"). Zafar-nama, stanza 22, Dasam Granth. That the Dasam Granth, Zafar-nama "Epistle ofVictory" was written by the last Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh as a Persian poetic letter warning the Mughal Emperor Aurengzeb is noteworthy. 38
Between Veda and Kuran. Your discords have ruined the nation, And you are so unwise as not to understand this. Your temples and mosques are crumbling down, Where is the power of your religion or creed? At what are you so puffed up [proud] about, Even knives and daggers have been snatched away from you? You have sworn to abstain from beef and bacon, While the white in your midst consume both freely Hindus and Muslims, refrain from these quarrels, [Became Aware] of your land and nation.94
Besides agitating for India's freedom from the British, Hardayal also began the
practice of linking America and India as "brothers" in the fight against the British. For
instance in the December 23, 1913, issue of Ghadar, Hardayal included a long-winded
rambling essay entitled, "The Relation ofthe Americans and British: The One Hope for
Hindustan" in which he stated that historical as well as current animosity between
America and Britain would prove to assist the Hindustani Ghadar Party in their
endeavors to remove the British from India. 95
However, under increased surveillance by British authorities, Hardayal's
influence on the newsletter, Ghadar was cut short. After being arrested in California, he
promptly jumped bail and fled to Berlin where he hoped to influence the Hindustani
Ghadar Party by funneling German funds to the Indo-American organization.96
94Hindustani Ghadar Party, Echo ofMutiny (Ghadar Di Gunj), (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, 1914), 4, 17. 95 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Ghadar, "The relation of the Americans and British: The One Hope for Hindustan." (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, December 23, 1913), Gunnurkhi issue. 96 Khushwant Singh, Ghadar 1915, 48.
~------39
With the departure of Hardayal, a new editor assumed work on Ghadar. Hindu editor Ram Chandra greatly expanded Ghadar topics; but he also believed that Ghadar · was not just an Indian publication. Ghadar described the animosity against the British by juxtaposing the American system of taxation and government with those ofBritain. Ram
Chandra, called America the "people's raj" and noted that in America,
The taxes are imposed by elected officials, elected by the people, and spent by the people elected for those roles. In India, the British impose whatever taxes they like and they spend however much they like and then keep imposing more and more taxes and they collect all that wealth and take it to London. In America, taxes are spent on the army so the the British won't bother the Americans. Money spent on the American army and police stays with the country.97
In other words, America and England were very different and India was much more like America-both in the way they were treated by England and their opposition to the taxation programs. Like Hardayal before him,98 Chandra believed that America would assist the Indians against their common oppressor,
England.99 Indeed the Hindustani Ghadar Party argued that the American public was wholly behind the Indian quest for freedom for, "full blooded Americans" would feel exceptionally happy at Indian revolution against England. 100
97 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Ghadar, "The difference between freedom and slavery: In America there is freedom in India, slavery." (San Francisco, Yugantar Ashram, September 20, 1916), Gurmurkhi issue. 98 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Ghadar, "The relation ofthe Americans and British: The one hope for Hindustan." (San Francisco, Yugantar Ashram, December 23, 1913) Gurmurkhi issue. 99 Ram Chandra, "An Appeal of India to the President of the United States" (San Francisco, Yuguntar Ashram, 1918). 00 ' George Franklin, "Philadelphia Rings the Liberty Bell oflndia" Independent Hindustan, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, October 1920), 44. 40
The belief in Indian kinship with America was widely publicized in Hindustani
Ghadar Party literature. For example, in the February 15, 1917, edition of Ghadar, Ram
Chandra published a telegram he sent to Woodrow Wilson responding to a recent
presidential speech noting, "Every nation should have this right that they manage for themselves and have the opportunity for progress without fear or hindrance from any
other nation. The very powerful and the weak nations should have equal rights."101
Chandra's telegram stipulated that:
We [all Indians] request that at the end ofthe war the joint congress please help India attain independence. [We] congratulate you on your proposal which you have just issued for the protection and freedom of the small and enslaved nations. At this time it is necessary to inform you that in India the British have suppressed the voice of the people. 10,000 jailed without due process by the British .... 102
So Chandra wasn't just sending his message to the Indian immigrants in
America-he was attempting to have his views known on the American national stage.
His inclusion of this telegram in Ghadar speaks to the fact that Ram Chandra was
attempting, even after the failed military revolution, to continue mobilizing Indian
expatriates in America.
Chandra believed that he had two audiences for whom to write: the Indian expatriates and the Americans. He targeted certain essays and poetry to the American audience, and they had a decidedly western aspect to them, especially those such as "The
101 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Ghadar, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, February 15, 1917) Gurmurkhi Issue. 102 Ibid. 41
Appeal of India to the President of the United States," which directly compared the
Hindustani Ghadar Party's work to those of the American Founding Fathers. 103
Publications geared toward western audiences were less vitriolic and rarely expressed
violence. "The Appeal of India to the President of the United States" starts with the
simple statement, "The following communications have been sent to the President of the
United States." 104 This work displayed pictures of George Washington, Abraham
Lincoln, and Woodrow Wilson on the cover, and enclosed within its pages were copies of direct communications to Woodrow Wilson where it was noted that the Hindustani
Ghadar Party was too feeble to demand anything from Americans or the President. 105
Rather, theirs was a "whispered plea of a great people made voiceless by a century of misery, famine, and oppression; the strangled cry of a strong and noble people broken on a wheel of British tyranny."106 Undoubtedly, while channeling anger in Indian language newsletters, the Ghadar editor-in-chief decided that garnering sympathy to their plight was by far the most strategic route for their American audience.
Ram Chandra in particular seemed to understand that the public forum- newspaper opinion pages, speaking engagements, and publication and dissemination of pamphlets directed toward the American audience--was one of the last of ever dwindling options to get the Ghadar message across. In a New York Times article on the impending
Asian exclusion law, Chandra stated that since the British have cracked down on
103 Hindustani Ghadar Party, The Appeal ofIndia to the President ofthe United States, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, February 1, 1917), 6. 104 Hindustani Ghadar Party, The Appeal ofIndia to the President ofthe United States, 1. 105 Hindustani Ghadar Party, The Appeal ofIndia to the President ofthe United States, 2. 106 Ibid. 42 hundreds ofopposition papers in India, the only forum remaining was the American
public press. 107 In the prefatory note to the pamphlet "Exclusion of Hindus from
America Due to British Influence," Chandra targeted the American audience specifically by stating that they were often unaware ofthe immigration issues confronting the United
States. 108 He then hit what he believed were the important issues of the day: liberty, a lower standard of living for American labor, assimilation of immigrant populations, and
British influence over American policy. 109
Chandra clearly perceived that American society would respond to a well conceived and articulate argument. He also believed whole-heartedly that he could reason with Americans using the free press to reveal the Hindustani Ghadar Party ideas.
Furthermore, his use of "hotbutton" issues, namely the ideas of liberty and British influence over American policy garnered far-reaching American support, especially on the east coast. 11 °Chandra was planting the seeds for later support of the American public by raising these issues using what he believed to be the forum and approach most comfortable for Americans.
The Hindustani Ghadar Party, and specifically Chandra, made their various writings more accessible to Indian students and others by collating all recent writings newspaper editorials, Hindustani Ghadar Party propaganda-into mini pamphlets easy to
107 Ram Chandra, New York Times opinion page, August 13, 1916 republished in Exclusion of Hindus from America due to British Influence (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, November 1, 1916.) 108 Ibid. 109 Ibid. 110 Harold Gould, Sikhs Swamis, and Spies: The Indian Lobby in the United States, I 900-1946. (New Delhi: Sage Publication India Pvt. Ltd, 2006) 194. 43
pass out to members of the public or to students. In this way, all major points on a
topic-whether it be Asian exclusion laws, Indian citizenship, or labor issues related to
Indian workers-were concisely available at a moment's notice. These pamphlets were
almost universally written for a more educated reader, and specifically, Americans.
Within these tracts, the Hindustani Ghadar Party presented a point-counterpoint
methodology of making their views known. For instance, in "Exclusion of Hindus from
America due to British Influence," Ram Chandra printed one of his New York Times
opinion pieces regarding labor and Indian citizenship. The next section of the pamphlet
carried a retort to Chandra's original letter. The Hindustani Ghadar Party "Exclusion"
pamphlet concluded with Chandra's response to his adversary. The debate between Ram
Chandra and other adversaries was continued with the pamphlet citing the Hindustani
Ghadar Party's editorials in different papers such as the Sacramento Union and San
Francisco Call. 111 The Hindustani Ghadar Party believed that the American public would not respond to the kind of rhetoric and propaganda that emanated from their regular newsletters. While the Hindustani Ghadar Party appealed to the American public's sense ofliberty and fair play, they routinely filled their Indian language Ghadar newsletters, directed at immigrants, with references to violence and intimated that political discourse did not work.
The intersection of these two concepts cannot be made clearer than that within a poem which was printed in Ghadar ki Goon}, published by the Hindustani Ghadar Party.
111 Hindustan Ghadar Party, Exclusion ofHindus from America, 13-18. 44
Ghadar ki Goon}, which translates to "Echoes of Freedom," was published first in 1914
as a collection oflndian poetry. Within its pages existed a poem that stated:
Freedom is not obtained by begging, By appeals political power is not won. Do not petition like cowards, take the sword and they will run. 112
Both American ideals and references to violence often were included in the same
Hindustani Ghadar Party document, but only when targeted toward the diasporatic
Indian audience. For instance, the lengthy Urdu newsletter, Bande Mataram, published
an article entitled "Shabash" on December 23, 1914. The article was later published in
1915 by Yugantar Ashram, the Hindustani Ghadar Party headquarters. 113 "Shabash"
loosely translates to "Bravo" or "Good job." Under this subtitle are the words, "The tree
of liberty" harkening to revolutionary American symbolism made famous by Thomas
Jefferson, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants." The next line stated that the price per copy of the "Bande
Mataram-Shabash" newsletter was, "An Englishman's head," directly drawing the
parallel between Englishmen as the tyrants and the Indian Ghadar members as the
patriots-just like the American revolutionaries.
An interesting parallel presents itself when comparing the cover art of two
Hindustani Ghadar Party newsletters: Independent Hindustan which was English
112 Hindustan Ghadar Party, Ghadar ki Goon}, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, 1914), 6. 113 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Bande Mataram, "Shabash," (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, 1915,) 6 .
....._------~------45
language based, and Yuguntar written in the Gurmurkhi script. On the cover of
Independent Hindustan was a picture ofa woman trumpeting independence. The woman
possessed Anglo-features and was draped in a cloth much like the Statue of Liberty. She
stood on a globe, her feet firmly planted in Asia, facing towards America (west) as she
blew a trumpet. 114 Her stance, the imagery, and her actions all hearken to Thomas
Paine's Liberty Tree:
How all the tyrannical powers, Kings, Commons and Lords, are uniting amain, To cut down this guardian of ours; From the east to the west blow the trumpet to arms, Through the land let the sound of it flee, Let the far and the near, all unite with a cheer, · In defence of our Liberty Tree. 115
114 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Independent Hindustan, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, March 1921), I. 115 Thomas Paine, "Liberty Tree." http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Liberty Tree retrieved on February 15, 2007. 46
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Th~ \,';fl,lJt' ,'{"P~~bi1c: ,,f lnd;tt
F.di'iJrid\
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Figure 4: Independent Hindustan
Again, the perception of the Ghadar editors was that the American audience was much more likely to respond positively to imagery, rhetoric, and propaganda that was non confrontational yet evoked early American and revolutionary ideology, such as images akin to the statue of liberty or references to British tyranny. 47
Figure 5: Yugantar
Conversely, the image in the Indian language Yugantar is a woman, "exotic" to the
American eye-dressed in a skirt and short top, wearing a head ornament that had a
serpent's head on it. The woman was covered in various jewels on her hands, wrists, arms, neck, and feet. She is floating over a map of British India, and is in the act of drawing a long sword from its sheath, and taking a step forward as if to engage the enemy. At her feet are two cannons, pointed and ready to fire. The caption above and below state: "Yuguntar" or "New Era". 116 The Hindustani Ghadar Party editors clearly believed in the ability of "Mother India" to engage in combat against her foes in the
"new era" of freedom. Yet the editors never included such imagery in any documents
116 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Yuguntar (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, June 1917), 1. 48 directed towards the American audience. They likely believed that the violence within the image, coupled with the female protagonist, was both too masculine and generally offensive for their American audience.
The differing messages cannot be explained simply because they were published years apart. Yugantar was clearly intended for an Indian audience. Others have stated that Hindustani Ghadar Party propaganda lacked forethought or structured ideology. 117
However, the Hindustani Ghadar Party's multi-pronged approach did not necessarily mean that there was not a structured ideology. Instead Ghadar editors used different approaches for diverse audiences whom they wished to influence in distinctive ways.
The forethought as to what was to be included in their propaganda can be observed in an early letter from Hardayal to other Ghadar Party members. In the accompanying letter to a draft ofhis latest article, "The United States oflndia,"118 Hardayal asked his Ghadar associates:
Do you like [this title] or not? This name or title will affect the States, as it presents a definite ideal. It will please the American public, and will therefore be good for our safety .... We shall start the English [language] newspaper upon reaching California and then all the 'bogus' rascals will shut up oftheir own accord. 119
Hardayal intended to publish an English language newsletter targeting
Americans, but did not get an opportunity to do so. Even though his naming ofthe
117 Sukhdeep Bhoi, "Ghadar: The Indian outrage against Canadian injustices" (MA Thesis, Queens University Canada, 1998), 100. 118 Lala Hardayal, "The United States oflndia" and accompanying message. Intercepted Letter included in memo from Cecil Spring Rice to Secretary of State Polk, January 5, 1915. From National Archives and Record Administration Microfilm #1868, Reel 1. 119 lbid. 49
Hindustani Ghadar Party was inspired, later events showed that he lacked the political panache to adequately use propaganda to best effect. Ram Chandra, on the other hand, was relentless in his execution of the ideals espoused by Hardayal. Where Hardayal failed in action, Ram Chandra excelled.
The poetic compilation, Ghadar ki Goon} continued the use of the Indian feminine archetype in several poems. Kartar Singh Saraba wrote, "On the Way to the
Gallows," a patriotic view of sacrifice and nationalism.
On the judgment day Before the gods These will be my words, my statement: I am a servant of Indians India belongs to me Yes, Indian I am One hundred percent Indian Indian is my blood and my caste This is my only religion My only tribe, my only clan I am a particle of the ravaged India's ruins This is the only name I have The only hallmark, the only address Oh, Mother India this was not be my fate My good fortune That with every movement of mine I could have worshipped your feet 0 Mother India If my head is offered My life is sacrificed In your service Then, I would understand Even in my death I will attain A life ofetemity. 120
12°Kartar Singh Saraba, UC Davis Library Website, http://people.Iib.ucdavis.edu/tss/punjab/gadardigunj.html, Compiled by Ted Sibia, accessed 5/10/05. 50
The references to "O Mother India" harkens to the writings of Chatterjee and his
presentation of the femininity and spirituality linked to nationalism in India-that the
patriarchal presentation of nationalism thrust i.lpon women is a distinct role to maintain
true lndian-ness. 121 Additionally, archetypes of women as mother and goddess came to
signify the Indian nation itself as well as embody nationalism: "It served to emphasize
with all the force ofmythological inspiration what had in any case become a dominant
characteristic of femininity in the new construct of 'woman' standing as a sign for
'nation,' namely, the spiritual qualities of self-sacrifice, benevolence, devotion, religiosity, and so on."122 If men were to do their fighting politically such as in the
Ghadar Party, the "spirituality" oflndia must be embodied by women. 123
Why did Ram Chandra use American iconography more than Lala Hardayal?
Ram Chandra possessed the ability to use propaganda remarkably well. Chandra knew his audiences and he knew how to influence each segment-the American audience and the immigrant Indian audiences. His tactics were useful to Indian readers because they
began to see their stake in American culture. Chandra's work essentially began
Americanizing the Indian immigrants by using iconography and poetry.
The poetry and iconography functioned as another important element. It helped to establish for the Indian readers a sense of anti-British "hero." Americans such as
121 Partha Chatterjee, The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Post Colonial Histories, (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1993), 131. 122 Ibid. 123 Partha Chatterjee, The Nation an Its Fragments, l 30-131. 51
George Washington fought against the British, and most importantly, triumphed against them. The Ghadar editors used the image of Washington to great effect in their newsletters-holding him as a symbol of heroic triumph against Britain. However, the use of the American hero images would prove ironic as the American government that the Ghadar Party so revered would clasp its hands in unity with Britain and tum its back on the Hindustani Ghadar Party. 52
Chapter 3
THE FEDERAL TRIAL, UNITED STATES V. RAM CHANDRA, ET. AL: 1917-1918
Nearly 8,000 Indians on the West Coast ofNorth America traveled back to India where they were set to provoke a revolution on the scale of the Sepoy rebellion. 124
When the Ghadar members made it into India, they quickly found out that they were politically out of step with the majority of Sikhs. While the Ghadar members were ready to wage war in India, Indians, specifically Punjabis still had the mindset that Sikhs had in the late nineteenth century-namely as loyal British citizens. Even though the
American influenced Ghadar members had changed because of their trials and experiences in America, people in India had not changed with them. Although Ghadar members attempted time and again to agitate a peasant rebellion, peasants were not interested in insurrection against the British especially since Gandhi was advocating supporting the British during the war and Sikhs had been the most loyal subjects of
Britain. Although a peasant uprising proved difficult, the Indian military readily agreed to help in a revolution. On February 21, 1915, the date of the revolt, the Sikh military men were instructed to shoot their English officers and then raid arsenals to gain access to rifles and arms. Bomb factories had already been set up in Punjab and after attaining rifles, the men were to acquire access to the bombs and furnish themselves with those as
124 Randhir Singh, The Ghadar Heroes: Forgotten Story ofthe Punjab Revolutionaries of1914- 15. (Bombay: People's Publishing House, 1945), 2. 53 well as hand grenades. 125 A spy in the ranks of the Ghadar Party in India ended any chance of a large scale revolt as the British quickly apprehended those involved. A subsequent trial in India found several Indian conspirators guilty and sentenced 24 defendants to death and the remaining to hard labor. 126 There were an additional eighteen trials throughout the British Empire, the most notorious of which was the
Lahore Conspiracy case, in which forty-six men were hanged and seventy were jailed for life. 127 These proceedings were then used by the British in order to persuade the United
States government to allow British surveillance of the Ghadar Party in America.
The members of the Hindustani Ghadar Party in America were under constant surveillance from British police and intelligence agents from 1911 to 191 7. After the
"revolution" failed in India, the British had asked the United States government to step in and arrest the Ghadar Party members who remained in America. The United States
Attorney General refused, citing that the Hindustani Ghadar Party was innocent of any misconduct-including publication of Ghadar.
By late 1916, the British embassy had thoroughly briefed the United States on the issue of "German intrigues" involving Asiatic nations. 128 Within this correspondence, the British pointed to American neutrality as the cause of British problems with the Hindustani Ghadar Party. "They [British] regret that they cannot
125 Khushwant Singh, Ghadar, 1915), 41-42. 126 Singh, Malwinder and Harinder, editors. War Against King Emperor (Ghadr of1914-15): A Verdict by Special Tribunal. (Ludhaiana, Punjab: Ghai Sahib Randhir Singh Trust, 2001), 392. 127 Singh, Ma1winder and Harinder, editors. War Against King), 483. 128 Colville Barclay, Memorandum from the British Embassy to the Department of State, Dated 25 September 1916, in The Foreign Relations ofthe United States, the Lansing Papers, 1914-1920, volume 1, 223-224. 54 regard the present negligence of the United States authorities towards such intrigues, which formed the subject of a note from this embassy on February 15th last, as compatible with the duties of a neutral power."129 The British embassy again requested that the United States do something to halt the activities of the Hindustani Ghadar Party.
Colville Barclay, British Ambassador, concluded the memo with a warning that the
British Empire was "temporarily refraining from taking their own measures in Eastern waters to prevent the spread of these hostile and seditious movements."130 Lansing's lengthy reply, fully endorsed by Woodrow Wilson, addressed the allegations of negligence hurled by the British. 131 Additionally, the United States emphatically denied that the Ghadarites did anything wrong on American soil. Page after page of the memorandum to the British embassy outlined how the Hindustani Ghadar Party's actions did nothing to violate neutrality laws. Indeed, the American government pointed the finger at British Canada for being the instigator of the Pacific Coast problems. 132 The
129 Colville Barclay, Memorandum from the British Embassy to the Department of State, Dated 25 September 1916, in The Foreign Relations ofthe United States, the Lansing Papers, 1914-1920, volume 1, 224. 130 Ibid. 131 Robert Lansing, The Secretary of State to President Wilson, Washington, February 27, 1917, in The Foreign Relations ofthe United States, the Lansing Papers, 1914-1920, volume I, 237-246. Wilson wholeheartedly supported Lansing's response to the British allegations of American negligence by stating that "it is out of the question to let such charges go uncontradicted, and this is unquestionably the right answer. It seems to me complete, and ought to make the persons who formulated the note of complaint ashamed of themselves." 132 Robert Lansing, Memorandum The Department of State to the British Embassy, February 23, 1917 in The Foreign Relations ofthe United States, the Lansing Papers, 1914-1920, volume 1, 237-245. The memo was drafted February 23, 1917 and forwarded to Wilson for review February 27, 1917. Wilson's reply to Lansing came the next day, February 28, 1917. However, there is no indication of the date the memorandum was sent to the British Embassy. For purposes of clarity, I have referenced this memo by its drafted date, February 23, 1917. 55
133 instances of the Annie Larsen and the Henry S. were also dismissed by Lansing , who
wrote: "From the circumstances related above regarding the Maverick and the Annie
Larsen, it is clear that neither of them violated the neutrality laws of the United
States."134 Lansjng included a quote from the Attorney General, who, upon investigating
some of the British issues, stated, "Prevention of'intrigues,' which do not constitute a
violation of the laws of this country, I do not conceive to be incumbent upon the United
States as a neutral power."135 Even Hardayal was exonerated for his role of editor for the
paper Ghadar. 136 Indeed, according to Lansing, the Attorney General believed that the
Hindustani Ghadar Party expression demonstrated free political speech and nothing remotely seditious. 137
By early March 1917, American and Imperial Germany's rupture of diplomatic relations reframed the entire subversive issue in America. In March 1917, the chief of
British intelligence, William Wiseman, summed up the entire issue to the Department of
Military Intelligence:
Federal authorities now realize that by prosecuting Chakravarty and others they admit responsibility for Indian sedition here, which they have tried to avoid in recent correspondence with the foreign office. We knew from the first that this was the real reason why Federal
133 Robert Lansing, Memorandum The Department of State to the British Embassy, drafted February 23, 1917, in The Foreign Relations ofthe United States, the Lansing Papers, 1914-1920, volume 1, 237-245. 134 Robert Lansing, Memorandum The Department of State to the British Embassy, drafted February 23, 1917, in The Foreign Relations ofthe United States, the Lansing Papers, 1914-1920, volume 1,243. 135 Ibid. 136 Robert Lansing, Memorandum. The Department of State to the British Embassy, drafted February 23, 1917, in The Foreign Relations ofthe United States, the Lansing Papers, 1914-1920, volume 1, 241. 137 Ibid. 56
authorities would not arrest seditionists. In connection with German plot we persuaded the Town police to make the arrest and now Federal people realize that it is too late for them to withdraw. They did not know we did it purposely, and they are very friendly, but have asked for some assurance that previous claims will not be pressed. . . F.O. should realize that we are in a very strong position because popular demand will prevent dropping of case and the United States are asking a favour from the Foreign Office. 138
Just prior to United States entry in World War I, the British felt that American attitudes
towards the Indians working in America were much too liberal but felt that there was no
way that the British could persuade the Americans to deport lndians. 139 The British
ambassador in Washington D.C. feared igniting anti-British feelings in all of America,
especially in the Irish and German communities, if it tried to persuade the American
government to deport lndians. 140 The British hoped that the Indians would incite anarchy
and thus be subject to American laws of deportation. 141 But British assertions about
Ghadar members working to assassinate British citizens in India hardly convinced
Robert Lansing, who could only react if Hindustani Ghadar Party members were
planning to hurt British citizens that resided in America. 142 For the most part though,
American governmental officials believed that Ghadar revolutionaries posed an
138 Wiseman to Military Intelligence, March 16, 1917, F.O. 371/3065, f. 1220/p.p. 57135 in Donald Dignan, "The Hindu Conspiracy in Anglo-American Relations During World War I" Pacific Historical Review Volume XL, February I 971, No. I, 74. 139 L.P. Mathur, Indian Revolutionary Movement In The United States OfAmerica, (Delhi: S. Chand, 1970), 144. 140 Ibid. 141 Ibid. 142L.P. Mathur, Indian Revolutionary Movement, 145. 57 insignificant risk and thus there was no need to arrest them on violation of neutrality laws since they were only an "oily revolution with an oily leader." 143
This American attitude came to an end when the New York City police, under the increased pressure of the British government, shadowed a young Indian intellectual and his wife in March 1917 .144 After an Indian expatriate, Herambalal Gupta finally disclosed seditious intent to the police, headlines ofa "spy plot" covered the New York
Evening World and the New York Times. The Times stated that "American tolerance has given way to a sternness befitting the time and danger." 145 Immediately preceding
President Wilson's Declaration of War on Germany, he ordered the Justice Department to arrest 17 Indians connected with the Ghadar Party in California. More Indians were arrested in Chicago and New York under suspicion that they were the agents of a worldwide conspiracy of Indians and Germans against the United States and its ally
Britain. 146 In July 1917 a grand jury indicted 124 people in San Francisco as part of the conspiracy on board the Annie Larsen. 147
Even though they were shocked by the arrest of their leaders, the remaining free
Hindustani Ghadar Party members continued distributing the newsletter, Ghadar.
However, their feelings regarding the arrests began seeping into their newsletters, and naturally, colored their political ideology expressed in these newsletters. For instance,
143 L.P. Mathur, Indian Revolutionary Movement, 147. 144 Janice R. MacKinnon, Agnes Smedley: The Life and Times ofan American Radical, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), 38. 145 Janice R. MacKinnon, Agnes Smedley: The Life and Times, 39. 146 Janice R. MacKinnon, Agnes Smedley: The Life and Times, 40. 147 Janice R. MacKinnon, Agnes Smedley: The Life and Times, 39. 58 their use of American iconography reached its zenith during the few months directly preceding the trial. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and
Patrick Henry all graced covers of Ghadar immediately prior to the trial. 148
148 Hindustan Ghadar Party, Ghadar, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram) issues June 7, I 917-July I, 1917. 59
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Figure 6: Ghadar Issue, June 23, 1917 Figure 8: Ghadar Issue, July 7, 1917
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Figure 7: Ghadar Issue, July 1, 1917
Figure 9: Ghadar Issue, June 9, 1917 60
After the arrest of the Hindustani Ghadar Party leaders, Ghadar continued publication. Ghadar .editors quickly re-established one primary topic in the newsletter, the link between the Sepoy Rebellion "martyrs" and those Indian patriots arrested in
America. Ghadar issue dated May 10, 1917, contained a celebration of the Sepoy
Rebellion of 1857 with images of rebellion heroine Lakshmi Bai and Joan d'Arc. 149 The cover article stated that the issue was to commemorate the 1857 "Ghadar" against the
British and that it was "the duty of natives and the live martyrs of the Ghadar of 1917 to complete the work of the martyrs, which was commenced by them in Ghadar 1857."150
The publication of this issue coincided with the arrest of the Ghadar Party members in
America; its content was intended to strengthen pride for the members in jail and to remind all Indians that the rebellion of 1857 had continued through the twentieth century
Ghadar Party.
The use of American iconography persisted as did the use of American ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom from unfair taxes. However, whereas former newsletters established America as a beacon of hope, the new newsletter contained a tone of incredulity and betrayal at their arrest. Anger against America began to trickle into the articles. Although not entirely equated with England, America began to be viewed by the Hindustani Ghadar Party as a place similar to British India-and not necessarily as their safe haven.
149 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Ghadar. (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram) May 10, 1917, Gurmukhi Issue. 150 Ibid. 61
The Ghadar article, "Messenger of American Freedom-General [George]
Washington" recounted a simplified history of Washington's revolt against the British,
the establishment of American democracy and how America repaid his bravery:
"Washington fought the war against English rulers and gained freedom. As a result of
which America elected him as its President. People revered him and gave him a place in
their hearts." 151 The anger of the Ghadar editor began to show as he juxtaposed
Washington's treatment by the American public and the Hindustani Ghadar Party's
treatment: "But today when [Indians] are spreading the message of Washington's
principles, America is filing [charges] against them." 152 From the Hindustani Ghadar
Party perspective, America had begun to lose the way established by George
Washington; the way that was hard fought against the same enemy as Indians. In this
new America, the Indian's "freedom" was being "snatched away and they are put behind
bars."153 In some sense, their "hero" worship of the American systems of public
expression crumbled.
The June 23, 1917, Gurmurki edition of Ghadar continued to question the
American government in subtle ways. On the cover page was a picture of Abraham
Lincoln with the caption, "The one who freed the slaves. He was a republican and
sixteenth President of the United States. The Negroes were being sold as donkeys. To
151 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Ghadar (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram) June 19, 1917 Urdu Edition. 152 Ibid. 153 Ibid. 62 fight for the principle of freedom, he sacrificed his own life." 154 Within this article,
Ghadar editors drew a parallel between the British support of slavery and the British in
India. "The British who were sympathetic to the slave traders it's the same British and same type of behavior that we are speaking against." 155 The author of the article pointed out the British hypocrisy of supporting the South during the civil war and the idea that
Britain was fighting for "freedom" in the current war.
The slaves that were being sold like horses and bulls and they were kept in worse conditions that the horses and the bulls.. The English were for slavery. The same English that today that say they are fighting in the war for freedom of Serbia, Romania.. They were on the side of the south and were in favor of slavery. 156
The most poignant part of the article came at the end, when the author stated,
"Millions of Indians are suffering in pain and tyranny. Nobody is hearing their plea, and any Indians who dare to speak about their suffering--Lincoln's America imprisons those
Indians."157 This article carried the same sentiment as the June 19th Urdu issue, but stated it in a much subtler way.
In the July 7, 1917, issue of Ghadar, the editors included a three page article on their kinship with American patriot Patrick Henry. 158 They stated that, "death is better than slavery" and attributed this sentiment to the "great American" Patrick Henry who
154 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Ghadar, "The History of Freedom for Negroes" (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram) June 23, 1917 Gurmurkhi Issue. 155 Ibid. 156 Ibid. 157 Ibid. 158 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Ghadar, "Patrick Henry", (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram) July 7, 1917 Gurmurkhi issue. 63
fought, "ghadar" against the British in 1776. 159 The Ghadar editor made direct links
between the England ofeighteenth century and England ofthe early twentieth century:
Before the Ghadar [American Revolution], the moderate Americans believed what the king had to say. But Patrick Henry was one of those people who did not have faith in the king's promises and didn't believe or trust him. And he had a vision of ghadar [revolution] in front of him.. America's Declaration of Independence written on July 4, 1776 to the king ofEngland George the III (Today it is George IV). The history of the king of England is the history oftyranny. 160
This issue of Ghadar truly exemplified the method ofusing American iconography and
American patriotism based on the founding fathers to link British India with America. It
stated:
English are taking our money. In India tyranny is ten times worse than in the American document. The British are taking all the wealth out of India. They are treating people as slaves. People don't have the right to have arms... English raj is a weapon to destroy people's selfrespect, to kill children and to shame women. And to kill people's reason for living. The effect of Patrick Henry saying, "Liberty or Death" is that Indians that live outside India (and especially the ones living in America)-- they believe in every word of Patrick Henry's speech. And they do prefer death to a life of slavery. The Ghadarites in America who have heard the old men's [founding father's] words and they breathe the air ofthis new world that came into existence of the founding fathers' sacrifices they no longer wish to remain slaves of the British. And no power in the world can force them to do so. So there is no ... ghadar soldier who has read a single sentence of the ghadar paper will not want to be a slave of the British even if his body is chopped into small pieces. Therefore-- Indians, Ghadarites... ---Freedom or Death. 161
159 Ibid. 160 Ibid. 161 Ibid. 64
This was another example of how Ghadar espoused the virtues of an American patriot.
The editor tied American patriotism to Indian patriotism and also tied the British in India to the British in American colonies.
Those who read Ghadar were influenced by this message. As Bhagwan Singh stated, "We get our ideas of freedom not from India, but from America." 162 But after the arrest, the message in Ghadar was becoming increasingly varied. For instance, where there were numerous examples in Ghadar that depicted the anger and shock of their arrest, there were also some that accepted the American arrests,
... and even if the Americans break their own principles of freedom, we will do nothing other than quietly suffer. We are uninvited guests we will abide by the American law the way we've done so far. We will continue to spread the word for our freedom through writings and through our speeches and even from behind the bars in the prison we will send our voice out. 163
It seemed that while in the June 17 issue, the Ghadar editors showed anger at their arrest and imprisonment, an issue from the week prior showed benevolence towards their adopted country. What each issue between April 1917 and July 1917 did depict, however, was that the Hindustani Ghadar Party believed that they were still the kin of the American patriots of the eighteenth century. "During the times of Washington, there were American Ghadarites [American patriots] in France and they were poor. Similarly, the Ghadarites in America today don't have much money and they cannot defend
162 Bhagwan Singh, Los Angeles Times, "Hindu Spies Sent to Jail" May 1, 1918. 163 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Ghadar (San Francisco, Yuguntar Ashram), June 9, 1917, Gurmurkhi Version. 65
themselves with success. They cannot afford the lawyers and the courts expenses." 164
Again, the link between American history and Indian patriotism was never tempered,
even within the issues that were most critical of the American government's treatment of
Indians.
The Hindustani Ghadar Party perceptions can also be ascertained in some cases,
through information on the trial. We can see how the diverse ideology began to manifest
itself in the courtroom. For instance the defendants did not approach their defense by
attempting to prove that they did not violate the laws of the United States. Rather, they
attempted to show that the Sedition and Neutrality acts were unjust laws-especially
when seen in the greater context of British imperialism against India. Time and again
they attempted to analogize their plight with that of American colonists and prove how
the Ghadar Party actions were righteous in light of British atrocities. 165 In their defense,
they simply re-stated many of their newsletter arguments -the unfairness of colonization;
the harm to Indian culture; the drain of economic resources from India. Yet none of
these issues-as compelling as they might have been-had any bearing on the violation
of law.
The defendants were first able to defend themselves in early March 1918. With the headline "Preston Accuses McGowan of Near-Treason in Hindoo Case," the San
Francisco Chronicle reporter detailed that McGowan, one of the defense attorneys,
opened with the statement taken from issues of Ghadar that the sole reason for the
164 Ibid. 165 Ram Chandra. The United States v. Franz Bopp, et al. Trial Transcript. 66
Ghadar Party prosecution came from the British government. 166 McGowan not only placed the blame of the trial on the British but he also described the conditions in India under British rule, "painting India under English rule as a land of famine, oppression and cruelty."167 The defense also tied the Ghadar Party members to the colonial American resistance against England: "McGowan, in describing the efforts of his clients to bring independence to India, quoted from a recent address of President Wilson and made the courtroom ring with the words of Patrick Henry, 'Give me liberty or give me death."' 168
For his part, prosecutor John Preston was so incensed by McGowan's opinion that he could not stop his voice from trembling calling McGowan's utterances, "scurrilous, defamatory, unpatriotic, almost treasonable." 169
Defense attorneys Daniel Yost and Timothy Healy did not present any evidence to defend their clients, all Sikh members of the Hindustani Ghadar Party. On March 2,
1918, they rested their case based upon the prosecution's evidence. 170 The defendants included were Bhagwan Singh, Santok Singh, Gopal Singh, Bischan Singh, Ram Singh and Nidham Singh. 171
The defense began in earnest in early March with the defendant G.B. Lal detailing his family's ties with the British government in India. His argument was simply
166 "Preston Accuses McGowan ofNear-Treason in Hindoo Case: Attack on Britain is Casus Belli," San Francisco Chronicle, (San Francisco, CA) March 1, 1918. 167 Ibid. 168 Ibid. 169 Ibid. 170 "Von Papen is Admitted Head ofHindoo Plot," San Francisco Chronicle, (San Francisco, CA),March 2, 1918. 171 Ibid. 67
that since his family benefited by British rule in India, he would never be a seditionist. 172
He continued to deny any knowledge ofthe "Hindoo Plot" when cross examined
although he admitted being at Hindustani Ghadar Party meetings and I.W.W.
meetings. 173
The newsletter contents themselves were classified as seditious on March 1,
1918. 174 However, this had no bearing on the Ghadar Party defense. The defense tactic
for all Indian defendants presented the atrocities of British India and argued that it would
be criminal to NOT fight against those. The Hindustani Ghadar Party felt that their
newsletters being read in court would assist their case, not harm it. 175
Indeed their feeling was that if the American public were to find out the true
nature of British rule in India, they would largely agree with what the members of the
Hindustani Ghadar Party were trying to accomplish. By and large, this became the de facto defense for the Party members. They took this methodology to an extreme by
attempting to subpoena several notable American officials as defense witnesses. On
February 26, 1918, Robert Lansing, Secretary of State, William B. Wilson, Secretary of
Labor, A.L. Burleson, Postmaster-General, and William Jennings Bryan were
subpoenaed. 176 Bryan's subpoena in particular drew anticipation as the Hindustani
172 "Lal Conjures Ancestors to Win a Verdict," San Francisco Chronicle, (San Francisco, CA), March 6, 1918. 173 "Bopp Fails in Court Battle for Immunity," San Francisco Chronicle, (San Francisco, CA), March 7, 1918. 174 "Preston Accuses McGowan ofNear-Treason," San Francisco Chronicle, March I, 1918. 175 Ram Chandra. The United States v. Franz Bopp, et al. Trial Transcript sheet 6875. 176 "Hindoos Want to Call Noted Men to Stand," San Francisco Chronicle, (San Francisco), February 26, 1918. 68
Ghadar Party defense hoped to present Bryan's pamphlet, "British Rule in India" as proof-American proof-ofBritish misdeeds. Lansing's subpoena hinted at a deal
struck between Britain and the United States-one in which the Americans looked to thwart indemnity from the British and so agreed to arrest the Ghadar Party members. 177
What in particular did the Ghadar Party members want the jury to see? Why
Robert Lansing and William Jennings Bryan? What was Ram Chandra trying to convey?
First, he attempted to bring more publicity to the plight of the Indian in America. He understood that his Ghadar newsletters garnered only limited American readership.
However, Chandra also believed that by subpoenaing William Jennings Bryan, the trial would take on additional publicity in newspapers and this through this publicity he would gain an opportunity to address the United States President. In this vein, after subpoenaing Bryan, Chandra decided to use the court to plead the Indian independence case to Wilson by urging that Wilson not end the war until India gained freedom. 178
Chandra stated:
India, Ireland, Egypt, Persia, Morocco, Malaya- these all are subject states. They should be represented in the peace conference, not by the governments which now dominate them, but by the representatives of their own selection. Let not this war be ended, Mr. President, until their freedom has been achieved. For this they will be grateful to you. If you accomplish this your name will shine forever, and with the luster that is now reserved for Abraham
177 Ibid. 178 "US Closes Case in Hindoo Revolt Trial: Attorneys for Defense to Open Fire," San Francisco Chronicle, (San Francisco, CA), February 27, 1918. 69
Lincoln among the Galaxy of the immortals. 179
Even within the courtroom, the Hindustani Ghadar Party's strategy evoked the memory of American presidential heroes in order to depict themselves as analogous to them. So although some Hindustani Ghadar Party newsletters publically criticized the United
States government, in the courtroom, Ram Chandra continued to use the memory of notable Americans as part of their defense. Chandra essentially said to the court and to those reading the newspapers, "Return to the true ideals of those American heroes who fought against the British."
On the last day of the sensational trial, Ram Chandra, the only remaining Hindu leader was shot and killed in the courtroom by Ram Singh, a Sikh member of the Party who was thereafter immediately shot by a US Marshall and killed. 180 The assassination of Ram Chandra ·in the courtroom violently exemplified the internal cracks in the
Hindustani Ghadar Party. The lack of cohesiveness between factions of the Hindustani
Ghadar Party had always been present. However, the trial exploited these divisions in numerous ways. Firstly, the arguments of Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim unity put forth by members ofthe Hindustani Ghadar Party in their newsletters were overblown. From a logistical standpoint, bringing the Sikhs into the fold of this revolution seemed like a splendid idea to the leaders. In practice, however, long simmering tensions between
Hindus and Sikhs spilled into the political life of the Hindustani Ghadar Party. The
179 Ibid. 180 Mark Juergensmeyer, "The Gadar Syndrome: Ethnic Anger and nationalist Pride" Population Review, footnote 35. 70
Hindu leadership, including Hardayal, Ram Chandra and Chakravarty used the Sikh
members as a lobbying tool. Their place of worship, the Stockton Sikh Gurduwara, often
hosted gatherings to raise funds for "Indian freedom." The Sikh farm workers, who
donated hard acquired funds, saw little to nothing for their efforts except a newsletter.
The final blow came with the testimony of Chakravarty and Ram Chandra at the
-trial. Both "sold out" secrets of how the Party functioned and implicated Sikh members
of the Party. 181 After the betrayal of America, after the indignity of racism both in India
and in the United States, the betrayal by the leadership of the Party to whom they had
given so much became the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. The San
Francisco Chronicle splashed the headline, "Ram Singh Kills Ram Chandra; U.S.
Marshal Holohan Kills Slayer" on April 24, 1918. 182
It seemed that the federal trial had finally abolished the Hindustani Ghadar Party.
The main leader Ram Chandra was assassinated in the courtroom. Prior leader Hardayal fled America years earlier and looked to never return. The remaining Indian defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from sixty days to twenty-two months. 183 And perhaps, most importantly, the newsletter had ceased production in the wake of such
181 Mark Naidis, "Propaganda of the Gadar Party," Pacific Historical Review 20 (1951): 251-253. Dr. C.K Chakravarty, the liaison between the Hindustani Ghadar Party and the German consulate, testified regarding the money the Germans had given the Hindustani Ghadar Party. He stated that after a transaction of approximately $60,000, Chakravarty purchased two apartments in New York.181 He constructed tales of impending revolution for the benefit of the German financiers. Finally, after his testimony ended, Franz Bopp, the German Consul-General bitterly queried, "You say you were inspired by patriotism? Dr. Chakravarty answered, "yes" to which Bopp replied, "Patriotism and $60,000 dollars." Also see Khushwant Singh. "The Ghadr Rebellion" Illustrated Weekly ofIndia, Feb 26, 1961-March 12, 1961. 182 "Ram Singh Kills Ram Chandra; U.S. Marshal Holohan Kills Slayer," San Francisco Chronicle,(San Francisco, CA), April 24, 1918. 183 The United States ofAmerica v. Franz Bopp, et al, Court Judgment Verdict, April 30, 1918. 71
organizational turmoil. American ideology and iconography was used sparingly by the
defense trial and largely ceased in Ghadar shortly thereafter.
If the members could not count on using American ideals, American
iconography, or even Americans themselves for support against the British, what would they be able to use? The crisis of the Hindustani Ghadar Party would pay strong
dividends later. Even in the light of such catastrophe, the Hindustani Ghadar Party
developed and honed a new strategy and political perception-namely that it was the
Hindustani Ghadar Party itself that espoused true American ideals of liberty and freedom
from tyranny. This new view became entwined with the writings of Karl Marx and
elements of socialism. 184 Thus the marriage between "real" freedom and socialist
opinion began the new renaissance of Hindustani Ghadar Party and, against all odds, the
Hindustani Ghadar Party strengthened their argument to free India from the British.
184 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Dynamiting Women and Children in India, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, 1919.) 72
Chapter 4
POST TRIAL ERA: 1919-1925
For the Hindustani Ghadar Party, the years following the federal trial proved difficult. The federal trial, the United States v. Franz Bopp, et. al. found all Indian defendants guilty of violating the Sedition and Neutrality acts of the United States. 185
The editor of the Ghadar newsletter, Ram Chandra, had been shot and killed in the courtroom, exemplifying a factional split between the Hindus and Sikhs of the organization. 186 Those Hindustani Ghadar Party members who were found guilty during the trial were forced to pay $25,000 bail and then sentenced to various prison terms some as short as two months and others stretching to two years. 187 Subsequently, the
United States attempted to deport numerous members of the Hindustani Ghadar Party back to British India for execution. 188
As expected with such an upheaval, the political perceptions of the Hindustani
Ghadar Party changed subtly yet significantly during this time. Ghadar 's depiction of
American iconography espousing American values did not end, but rather, evolved to argue that America itself had veered away from the values espoused by their founding fathers. Additionally, many issues ofGhadar changed to include socialist-tinged themes of "workers" and "imperialists." A new editor, an American named Ed Gammons who
185 "Twenty-nine are convicted in Hindu Conspiracy Cases," Sacramento Bee, (Sacramento, CA), April 24, 1918. 186 "Ram Singh Kills Ram Chandra; U.S. Marshal Holohan Kills Slayer," San Francisco Chronicle, April 24, 1918. 187 The United States ofAmerica v. Franz Bopp, et al, Court Judgment Verdict, April 30, 1918. 188 Hindustani Ghadar Party, To the Friends ofIndia, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, 1919.) 73
tailored his message to American audiences by depicting the injustices of British rule in
India, and subsequently the blood on the hands of Americans by siding with the British,
continued to publish the newsletter Ghadar. Perhaps most importantly Gammons also
began a political correspondence with a new East Coast entity, The Friends ofFreedom
for India whose secretary, Agnes Smedley, changed the Ghadar Party perceptions
appreciably by bringing to the forefront the idea of freedom as a worldwide phenomenon
in which the Indians had a part. Thus Gammons argued in publications that workers
throughout the world were on the side of India. 189
For instance, in the large pamphlet, Invincible India, Gammons published articles
such as, "Irish Convention Protests Against Deportations," "British Labor Condemns
Indian outrages," and "American Federation of Labor Joins Protest."190 Through these
essays, Gammons was able to shore up American support against the deportations of
Indian immigrants back to British lndia. 191 Essentially, Gammons involved a "neutral"
third party in the discussions in order to avoid the "British v. India" arguments that were
the mainstay of Ghadar literature under the tutelage of Ram Chandra. In some respects,
Gammons was extremely astute in his publications. Unlike Ram Chandra, Gammons did
not draw direct parallels between Indian and American freedom. Instead, he allowed the
189 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Dynamiting Women and Children in India, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram), 1919. 190 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Invincible India, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram), 1920. 191 Deportation was not considered a punishment. The Labor department was in charge of establishing the rules and regulations which would govern the hearings. There was only two ways that a hearing result could be reversed-if the secretary of labor himself reviewed the case and reversed it; or if the alien himself obtained a writ of habeas corpus in which a federal judge would determine solely based upon whether or not the hearing was unfair. Being that the Department of Labor created the rules and regulations, it would thus be difficult for any federal judge to determine that they were indeed unfair.
------74 third parties he wrote about to make those arguments. For instance, in "Irish Convention
Protests Against Deportations," Gammons included excerpts from the speeches given by the Irish. The Irish themselves (presumably) draw the parallel between American
British tension and Indian- British tension.
Whereas, The United States of America has, since it gained its independence from Great Britain in 1776, extended the principle of political asylum to countless European patriots, who fled from the wrath oftyrannical governments, and this policy has been pursued without question till this date, and Whereas, The people of India, like the people of Ireland, have been compelled by intolerable conditions ... challenge the right of Great Britain in preventing India by armed force from asserting her right to national self-government, and Whereas of these Hindus forced to seek refuge in this country are now facing deportation proceedings, which if carried out, will result in their instant execution by a British firing squad, India being now governed by martia. 11 aw ... 192
In other words, the Indians did not need to tell the Americans-the Irish themselves showed the similarities between the treatment of the Indians in America and how the
British treated the American patriots. Gammons also presented the argument that
American asylum and freedom was meant for "countless European" patriots, but not for the Hindustani Ghadar Party. 193 He left the reader to reach the conclusion as to why the difference existed. Gammons also linked occurrences in British India with American history. "[An Indian] must travel in a 'Jim Crow' railway coach and never dare to enter
192Hindustani Ghadar Party, "Irish Convention Protests against Deportations", Invincible India, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, I 920.) 193 lbid. 75 a coach 'Reserved for Europeans' ."194 Again, he deftly brought an American slant to the paper so it appealed to American readers.
The two-page tract, To the Friends ofIndia, published in 1919, was intended for
Americans. The front of the publication showed a picture of a serene-looking Gopal
Singh flanked by quotes from James Russell Lowell's "Stanzas on Freedom", stating:
Is true Freedom but to break Fetters for our own dear sake, And, with leathern heart, forget That we owe mankind a debt? No! true Freedom is to share All the chains our brothers wear And, with heart and hand, to be Earnest to make others free. They are slaves who fear to speak For the fallen and the weak; They are slaves who will not choose Hatred, scoffing, and abuse, Rather than in silence shrink From the truth they needs must think; They are slaves who dare not be In the right with two or three! 195
The relevance of using Lowell's anti-slavery poetic words was significant. Gammons directly compared nineteenth century slavery with British injustices in India.
The article opened by addressing other Indians, "Brothers: Shall we be deported?
To begin with, we acknowledge that our hearts are bleeding for India, our beloved land." 196 Again, this established Indian patriotism-that they were not just fanatics but true patriots who did not wish to destroy-but rather wished to re-create with the same
194 Hindustani Ghadar Party, "Subject Peoples Raped, Tortured and Murdered" Invincible India, 1920. 195 James Russell Lowell in Hindustani Ghadar Party, To the Friends ofIndia, 1. 196Hindustani Ghadar Party, To the Friends ofIndia, 1919 76
intentions as the American founding fathers. The article continued, "We are firm
believers that India be for our people and that the principles of'Self Determination for
Small nations' is our due if it is to be granted to others." 197 So again, their arguments
took the context of American ideology of freedom espoused by Wilson. This was juxtaposed in the next sentence:
But we ask you above: Shall we be deported? At this moment one of our number lies in prison with deportation proceedings already passed on favorably by the American authorities, and unless we act quickly he will be sent to India and his execution or imprisonment for life will follow. 198
Gammons was exceptionally clever in how he wrote this article. While the text of
the article was targeting Indians in America, the subtext was intended for Americans so
they could perceive the hypocrisy of Wilson's rhetoric and actions. The author presented
the inconsistencies of American freedom. On one hand, the Ghadar Party members acted
identically to the American founding fathers and espoused the same freedom ideals that
President Wilson supported. Yet on the other hand Indians were treated as if striving for
freedom was a crime-they were tried and imprisoned and were being deported for
acting upon the words of the President of the United States. The subtext came to the
forefront when the author stated, "Only our friends have the power to save these men.
The Hindus, unlike the Irish, are without power in America, and power, money power, is
197 Ibid. 198 Ibid. 77
the only thing that seems to get recognition in these strenuous times."199 In other words,
Gammons pleaded with the presumably American reader to exert his or her power to
"save this man." Although Gammons used American ideology and American values, he
used them to show that America that had lost its way and true values. For instance when
the article stated:
In the late war the slogan, 'Make the World Safe for Democracy,' surely included India, for there has been no 'Democracy' there during the past two hundred years. President Wilson has declared many times that the right of any people to self-determination shall not be denied by any of the larger powers of govemment200
Gammons was betting that the reader would begin to see that American government, in
deporting freedom fighters, was not only acting hypocritically, but had gone astray.
Gammons continued, by linking writer Walt Whitman's quote, "I am the friend
of every dauntless rebel,"201 to America as progenitor ofdemocracy2°2 and finally, to the
Ghadar Party members, such as Gopal Singh: "Gopal Singh, who is one of the young nationalists of India, took advantage of these high ideals of America and came here for the purpose of nourishing his aspirations for liberty."203 Not only is Singh linked to the
birth of democracy, but notably, Gopal Singh is also designated as a nationalist-a young nationalist. This characterization had never been used before in Ghadar literature.
The significance lay in the difference in terminology between "nationalist" and
"revolutionary." "Revolutionary" conjured notions of bombings, aggression and Soviet
199 Ibid. 200 Ibid. 201 Ibid. 202 Ibid. 203 Ibid. 78
style revolution. "Nationalist" was a much more benign designation. The American founding fathers were "nationalists" who were forced to be "revolutionaries," in order to defeat the British. Again, Gammons was building the case that Indian nationalist revolutionaries were the inheritors of true American values.
The article continued,
Has America ceased to live up to the hopes ofits poets and orators? Can men be seized by powers not yet removed from monarchy and taken back to be murdered by 'Commissions' without trial or semblance ofjustice? We hope not. Gopal Singh is one of our people, and unless we reach the ear ofthe Liberty Loving people of America he will soon be on his way back to India to what we feel sure means certain death. If America is convinced that Gopal Singh deserves the treatment he is about to be accorded we ask: Why not murder him here instead of sending him to India to be butchered there in the streets of Calcutta?204
The blame for the Ghadar Party woes had now shifted from the British imperialists to the
American government. The Ghadar Party charge was now to garner public support against the American government without alienating the public. The task was not an easy one. It was easier to blame British imperialists for the problems that the Ghadar
Party was having in America. It was easier to say that the American government was unduly influenced by British. But to state that the American government itself was knowingly veering off course from its historical support ofliberty was a much harder argument to make, especially when trying to create a swell of public support. Gammons does this masterfully in the final paragraph of the article:
204 Ibid. 79
"Brothers of ours and friends of India: awake to the enormity ofthis crime that is about to be committed against our brothers. We, on behalf of our countrymen in the United States, appeal to your sentiment and sense of plain justice. We know Americans love fair play when their heart can be reached. This is the time for you to help these men. Do not hesitate. The lives of our brothers are in your hands and soon we will follow if the precedent is once set. Your voice has great influence in this great Republic of yours. You are the nation. Approach the representative citizens that you know and appeal to them at once on our behalf and on behalf of Gopal Singh. Do this today; tomorrow will be too late. Publicity is urgently needed. Protest in every way possible against this outrageous treatment of men whose only crime is their love of liberty.205
Simultaneously, The Friends ofFreedom for India, based in New York City, begun coordination with the Hindustani Ghadar Party to end deportations of Indians.
Secretary, Smedley, wrote to the West Coast based Hindustani Ghadar Party and initiated politically-based correspondence to end deportations of Indians. Smedley' s political views substantially influenced the later Ghadar Party direction for it was through the Friends ofFreedom for India that labor unions and the ideas of "Workers" filtered into Ghadar publications. Smedley persisted in including lists of union organizations which had passed the resolution put forth by Samuel Gompers. The
Socialist leanings may have germinated with Smedley, but the anti-American government writings of Gammon also laid the groundwork for the acceptance of
Smedley's ideas. The Hindustani Ghadar Party began to see itself as a "worker" party and tried to unite all newsletter topics under this label. An additional change occurred in comparison to how India was portrayed in the Ghadar Party literature. When Ram
Chandra acted as editor, pamphlets often denounced the British in India. Pamphlets such
205 Ibid. 80
as "The Methods ofThe Indian Police in the 20th Century" were meant to shock the
American public-to show the inhumanity of the British using as much detail as possible. For example, the cover ofthe "Methods" pamphlet stated in bolded box,"... the woman made a statement to the following effect: 'I was hung to the roof by the police ... during the investigation ... a baton smeared with green chilies was thrust up my anal opening. "'206 Ram Chandra probably thought that shocking the reader was the best way to gain their attention. However, these pamphlets probably did more to disgust the American reader and were less likely to provide any long term assistance. The newer methods ofpressuring current American government to change their stand against the
Indians were a much more effective strategy, even when using terminology of socialism.
Agnes Smedley influenced the perceived link between issues of American Labor and British influence in American politics. The Hindustani Ghadar Party literature appealed to the American media by showing that the American government had become influenced by Britain and was no longer a government for the American people, since the American people were workers and labor unions were often (according to the Ghadar
Party literature) being ignored. For instance, in India in Revolt, Ed Gammons published an article entitled, "Death Still Faces Deportees" where he directly addressed "The
American People."207 He began by stating that death was still imminent for the Ghadar
Party members at the hands ofthe British Government. But he continued,
206 Hindustani Ghadar Party, The Methods ofthe Indian Police in the 20th Century, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, 1915.) 207 Hindustani Ghadar Party, "Death Still Faces Deportees, "India in Revolt. (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, 1919.) 81
The protests of Organized Labor, the protests of American Liberals ofevery shade of opinion, the protests even of some of your representatives in the national congress - all of these are, as yet, unavailing against the urge of the British Government that we be deported back to india there to face the firing squad or the public hangman. 208
Gammons then stoked the readers' anger by stating,
... Great Britain has a considerable influence in matters of this description and that to overcome the influence, a weightier one must be brought into action at once. That influence is at your disposal. It is your will. You constitute the court of final appeal. You will be heard. YOU MUST BE HEARD.209
Gammons alleged that the American people had NOT been heard and instead, British
interests trumped those of American workers, and consequently, the Indian members of
the Ghadar Party. This article also listed several labor unions who protested against the
deportations, including the executive council of the American Federation of Labor, the
Central Federated Union of New York and nearly twenty other unions from California to
New York as well as the Irish Progressive league and the Catholic Women's League.
Thus the Hindustani Ghadar Party successfully created a link between labor and social justice issues. 210
The Hindustani Ghadar Party Publication Dynamiting Women and Children in
India posed the question, "Would American labor stand idly by while strikers in another
land were put down by force? If the airplane and the armored car could be used
successfully against labor in India, they could and would be used against strikers in
208 Ibid. 209 Ibid. 210 Hindustani Ghadar Party, "Labor's Roll of Honor", India in Revolt, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, 1919.) 82
America. 'Already the capitalistic masters ofthis country are planning their use.' "211
The sentiment was carried to the California State federation of Labor who passed a resolution stating that, "the sooner the masses thoroughly grasp the fact that the interests of the proletariat are identical everywhere in the world, and realize the latent power of the people, the speedier the shackles of slavery and bondage will be shattered ... "212
Smedley believed that the labor unions would help the Indians to not be deported, especially since Samuel Gompers was a member of the "Anti-imperialism League" and the Hindustani Ghadar Party was, by definition, anti-imperialist.
However, the labor union issue was not the panacea for which Smedley and the
Hindustani Ghadar Party had hoped. A marked example of this fact comes from the resolution what was passed by the Stockton International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers Union No. 207. In it, the Stockton union, which was located in a largely rural area inundated with a large population of Indian Sikh workers, encouraged governmental deportation oflndians.213 The labor union resolved that all Indians were not law abiding citizens and as such should expect no shelter or freedom and should be deported as a measure for local protection.214 Smedley was livid over the resolution and in a following correspondence to Hindustani Ghadar Party headquarters surmised that it was British
211 Hindustani Ghadar Party, Dynamiting Women and Children in India (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, 1919.) 212 Independent Hindustan, "California Labor Stands for Freedom oflndia" in Mark Naidis, Propaganda ofthe Gadar Party, 257. 213 Letter from International Brotherhood of Electrical workers, local union no. 207, of Stockton, CA PO Box 141, to Agnes Smedley and Friends ofFreedom for India, Unpublished, dated October 2, 1919. 214 Ibid. 83 treachery which had caused the problems with the Stockton International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers Union No. 207.215 Furthermore, she stated that the British had infiltrated what she considered hallowed ground-the union.216
The British in India were no longer the top priority issue. It was the British in
America-the British who were subverting the American government that had become the primary problem. Gopal Singh, the new Hindustani Ghadar Party leader, was re arrested after he stepped out ofjail on a warrant that the Secretary ofLabor had issued.
McNeal' s island jail held three Ghadar members set for deportation. Under pressure from the British Consul General of San Francisco, A. Carnegie Ross, the Ghadar Party members were re-arrested and set for deportation. Ross wrote a letter using the letterhead ofthe British consul-general of San Francisco to New York immigration authorities which stated, "I trust that this information will supply the information which you require. If there is any further information, which is not supplied in this, I will be glad if you let me know and I will supply it."217 Agnes Smedley and The Friends of
Freedom for India fought the deportation ofGhadar member Sarkar with two basic arguments-first that if any Indians were deported it would be because American sovereignty was being questioned and superseded by the British, and, secondly, the return of these Ghadar members would mean sure death for them.
215 Agnes Smedley, Letter from Agnes Smedley to Ed Gammons, October 10, 1919, South Asians in North America Collection, University of California Berkeley 216 Ibid. 217 Sohan Singh Josh, Hindustani Ghadar Party: A Short History, 129. 84
The labor union issue became a vehicle by which Hindustani Ghadar Party issues were tied and thus disbursed during 1919--1920. Smedley suggested in several communications to Singh, that Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of
Labor was inclined to help and had, in fact, pushed for resolutions to assist the Indian workers stay in America.218 Smedley in a July 5, 1919, letter outlined her political intentions of how to help the Indians-not just the Hindustani Ghadar Party at this point, but all Indians. She sent on this date to Singh a copy of the letter from Gompers and asked that Singh circulate it to all unions on the west coast.219 Smedley also outlined that
Singh must use union symbols and letter head "when addressing union men."220 She copied Gomper's pro-Indian worker statements to all United States Senators and depicted unusual political acumen when she stated: "if any Hindu is deported, it will furnish a precedent upon which any other Hindu may also be deported. And never again will a Hindu refugee be safe in this country."221 In this correspondence Smedley informed the Pacific Coast Indians of the larger political picture on the horizon and assisted them with the only tool she identified-the labor union. 222 By labeling the
Indians as "working men" and "refugees," Smedley attempted to include them as an ancillary to the American Federation of Labor, and furthermore, corresponded with
Samuel Gompers on their behalf. Also, Smedley insisted that the Indians were political
218 Agnes Smedley, Letter from Agnes Smedley to Mr. Gopal Singh, July 5, 1919, South Asians in North America Collection, University of California Berkeley. 2191bid. 2201bid. 221 Ibid. 222 Ibid. 85 refugees, and if deported to British India from America, they would certainly be tried and executed for involvement with the Hindustani Ghadar Party.223
Smedley became frantic when she realized that for all her work she was not able to stop the deportations. In June 1920, thirty-nine Indian laborers were transported to
Ellis Island, set to be deported and large scale roundups of Indianswere rumored to be underway. 224 In August 1920, Smedley explained to Santokh Singh of the Ghadar Party, that the immigration inspector, "threatened to have our lawyers disbarred if they interfered in the cases."225 By September 30, 1920, Smedley reporte_d the United States had deported 70 to 100 "Hindu workers." Suddenly, it seemed that British imperialism had in fact successfully influenced the American government. Due to its wartime alliance with England, America was not able to support Indian workers on its own soil.
Furthermore, it had no incentive to change this position since American workers and unions did not necessarily want Indian workers taking away union jobs or becoming part of their unions. Most Americans, although they might have been sympathetic to the
Indians' cries for freedom from he British, were not wiling to interfere in how the British conducted their own affairs, and frankly thought that India needed the British to help them with government as much as the Americans had helped the Philippines and Hawaii in the decades before.
223 Ibid. 224 Ruth Price, The Lives ofAgnes Smedley (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 85. 225 Agnes Smedley, Letter to Santokh Singh, August 17, 1920, South Asians in North America Collection, University of California Berkeley. 86
The Indians tried a variety of tactics in order to get the issue of deportations known in America and that became the problem that needed to be solved immediately. The
Dial, a magazine usually reserved for literary and philosophical work, published an article on August 23, 1919, by Sailendra Nath Ghose entitled, "Deportation of Hindu
Politicals." Ghose succinctly outlined the problems with the deportation of political
"Hindus" based on the current immigration law. He charged,
Why is the present administration so anxious to violate the sacred tradition of America--that of granting asylum to political refugees from oppression? Why is it the Hindus are chosen, and not the Koreans or the Irish? The reason is not far to seek; the Irish are politically strong; the Koreans are not British subjects. I have seen copies of a letter and the documents, not in the possession of the Friends of Freedom for India, at the offices of that organization.... from A. Carnegie Ross, British Consul General at San Francisco ...To such a source the immigration authorities tum for material evidence.226
Ghose called the proceedings "shameless Un-American"227 and threatened that the
American Federation of Labor 228would not stand "for the deportation of aliens for purely political offenses." The author argued that even "Socialist Mexico" protested and stated that they would take the Hindu refugees in "lieu of America's turning them over to a 'relentless enemy."'229 Ghose finished his arguments with the example ofTaraknath
Das, an American citizen who was imprisoned at Leavenworth, Kansas because of his association with the Hindustani Ghadar Party members. Das' citizenship was in the
226 Sailendra Nath Ghose, "Deportation of Hindu Politicals," The Dial, August 23, 1919. 227 Ibid. 228 Ibid. 229 Ibid. 87 process of being revoked because of his political stances-the antithesis of American values. 230
In an attempt to inform the American public about the influence of Britain on
American politics, the Hindustani Ghadar Party published India's Voice at Last: India's
Reply to British Propagandists and Christian Missionaries in the early 1920's. This tract succinctly placed the Ghadar Party in the camp of anti-western thought. The eighteen page pamphlet was a question and answer type document that posed several common questions that Americans may have had regarding Indian life under British rule. It was unabashedly un-western in ideology, and yet at the same time, it was easy to read and unobtrusive. For instance it began,
Americans are familiar with tales of 'heathen' India, as told by British propagandists, Christian missionaries and casual tourists. Surely intelligent Americans sometimes wonder what the Indians know of India. This little pamphlet is written for those inquiring and unprejudiced Americans who desire to know something ofthe real India, who suspect the disinterestedness of British and missionary information-bureaus, who are convinced that humanity the world over is closely akin, knit together by their common needs, their common interests, their common weaknesses and aspirations.231
The brochure continued,
America knows how England has attempted the perversion and suppression of true American history, how anglicized versions ofthe revolutionary war have found their way into American school-rooms, how attempts have been made to delete those sections of the declaration of independence which deal with the charges against the king of England.232
230 Ibid. 231 Hindustani Gadar Party, India's Voice at Last: India's Reply to British Propagandists and Christian Missionaries, (San Francisco: Yuguntar Ashram, 1920.) 232 Ibid. 88
This statement played to American suspicions of British infiltration of their country. The
article continued,
The mayor of Boston, speaking recently of England's' insidious propaganda in American says she 'no longer ships her Hessians here to strangle liberty; she buys her mercenaries on American soil and recruits her hirelings from bench and bar, press and pulpit, college and counting room, to preach the gospel of Colonialism and anti-Americanism, to poison the sources of education and knowledge and teach the glory of internationalism.233
In other words, America had been invaded by the British without their knowledge, and
American sovereignty was compromised.
The Hindustani Ghadar Party ended the introduction ofIndia's Voice at Last with their new manifesto. "The Pacific Coast Hindustani Association has determined not to let a single false report about India circulate unchallenged."234
Herein, Gammons attempted to convince Americans that indeed it was the
British who were wrong in their assertions about India. Like in prior eras, India was positioned in a state of weakness; it was a poor country bullied by a large imperial power. "IfEngland may thus work her will upon America, may thus influence the political life of a country where there is freedom, wealth and power, what can she not do to India, famine-stricken, un-educated, plundered and oppressed as she is under British
233 Ibid. 234 Ibid. 89 rule?"235 Gammons again created a connection between the British infiltration of
America and tyranny in British India.
235 Ibid. 90
Chapter 5
CONCLUSION
The Hindustani Ghadar Party conveyed their messages of Indian independence to
a worldwide diasporatic audience who varied in religious, social, and political
backgrounds. The loose-knit Ghadar Party attempted the daunting task of uniting the
various Indian groups through the use of their newsletter, Ghadar. For a brief time, the
Ghadar Party accomplished its mission; however, factional differences soon broke the tenuous bonds. The vehicle of Ghadar assisted Indian immigrants to overcome
differences ofreligion and political entrenchment. Notably, it also worked to provide
American readers with a glimpse into the life of India under British domination. It was
through Ghadar that readers understood the similarities of American and Indian
disenchantment with British rule.
Ghadar used American iconography and American ideals to further the cause of
Indian independence. Holding up America as a notable example of a country that had
prevailed over British domination, Ghadar editors attempted to place themselves and
other Indian independence leaders into the parallel roles of George Washington and
Abraham Lincoln. Furthermore, they 4sed American iconography to enhance their credibility with the American public-to create a link in America's eyes between Indian
independence and American independence.
The ideas espoused in Ghadar came under internal and external pressure during the sensational trial, the United States v. Franz Bopp, et. al. Internally, the fragile unity 91
between the Ghadar Party factions broke. In order to obtain leniency for themselves,
several members testified against others. Others saw the trial itself as a farce, and still
others felt taken advantage ofby the court justice system and even other expatriate
Indians. The internal discontent culminated with the courthouse assassination of Ghadar
Party editor, Ram Chandra. The external pressure was, of course, the federal trial itself.
Ghadar Party members were genuinely shocked at their arrest and trial, notably due to their acceptance of the propaganda within Ghadar issues. How could America do this?
The idyllic view of America as a safe shore evaporated as did positive references to
America within Ghadar. George Washington's image in subsequent Ghadar newsletters was both menacing, and taunting. The Hindustani Ghadar Party began viewing America as having lost its way and Ghadar issues started publishing articles denouncing
American persecution of revolutionaries.
Not surprisingly, the Ghadar Party message began to change after the United
States v. Franz Bopp, et.al. from one that lauded America's revolution against Britain to one that saw socialist thought as the answer to their problems with Britain. And still interestingly, references to American ideals were not wholly absent from Ghadar issues.
The post-trial editor, Ed Gammons, used quintessentially American values and references to freedom to indict the American government on its new nativist path. In essence, Ghadar editors began to present Ghadar itself as the true carrier of ideas of
American liberty, freedom of speech, and champion ofjustice. 92
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