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Home , Ghadar Movement, Hindustan Ghadar, India House, Komagata Maru incident, Mahendra Pratap, Sardar Ajit Singh

179 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy Revisiting the Indo-German ‘Conspiracy’

Sharanjeet Nijjar Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Sarhali, Tarn Taran, ______

The First World War broke out in in August 1914. It provided a new hope for the Ghadarites to take advantage of the opportunity and organise an armed revolt against British rule in and achieve liberation. The Ghadarites wanted to drive the British out of India through an armed insurrection. With the hope of achieving a successful revolution, they formulated an alliance with anti-British countries such as and . During the course of the War, the Ghadar leadership in the USA held regular meetings with German agents. In 1915, they organised an Indo-German ‘Conspiracy’ (also known as Hindu German ‘Conspiracy’), effectively a German plot with the aim of overthrowing British rule in India. With the assistance of the Germans, an Indo-German Mission was also sent to to get favour of the Amir of to fight tyranny of British rule in India. ______

Introduction

The was formed by Indian immigrants on the West Coast of America with the aim to propagate their programme and get freedom from the British rule through an armed revolution. It brought out a weekly newspaper called Ghadar in November 1913, first in and then in Punjabi and many other Indian languages. Henceforth, it came to be known as the Ghadar Party. The party heavily emphasized people’s unity and cautioned against the divide and rule policies of the British Government. The Ghadar was an important mouthpiece of the movement. By using this as weapon against the British, the Ghadarites published several forms of literature, such as poems and opinion pieces in this paper and made people more aware of the economic exploitation carried out by the British Government. The outbreak of the First World War provided hope for the Ghadarites in the United States to organise an armed revolt for overthrow of the British from India. For this purpose, whatever assistance they could get from anti-British powers, especially Germany, became essential. As a response, Germany also declared its support to the Ghadarites in their anti-British struggle. The present paper provides a focus on Indo- German designs against the during the .

Germany, the First World War and the Ghadar Party

The First World War started between Germany and England on August 4, 1914. It delighted the Indian revolutionaries living abroad in North America. For them, it was at the same time a signal and a hope. They had been anticipating such an event for a long time and eagerly looked forward to the day when the British would be involved in the War with Germany. For them England’s difficulty was

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India’s opportunity.1 However, with the beginning of the War, the Ghadarites tried to get support from anti-British countries. In the USA and Germany, they renewed their efforts to enlist the sympathy and support of the Germans.2 Even from the beginning, Indian revolutionaries had toyed with the idea of securing foreign help in the hour of Britain’s difficulty. But the most important question was with whom was Britain most likely to be in difficult and from whom help might be secured and what prior preparations should be made for that purpose? In November 1909, for the first time, Germany was referred to by them as the chief enemy of Britain. In 1913-14, the Ghadar literature was replete with references to the approaching Anglo-German War and possible German help in their revolutionary struggle.3 Germany was also interested in supporting the Indian revolutionaries. It showed in Kaiser Wilhelm’s (Emperor of Germany) speech on July 14, 1914, two weeks before the War began. He said: “Our Consuls in Turkey and India, agents etc. must enflame the entire Mohammedan world to wild revolt against this hated, mendacious, conscienceless nation of shop keepers (the English), for if we have to bleed ourselves to death, then England should at least loose India”.4

The year 1914 saw a new turn in the history of the relation between Germany and the Indian revolutionaries. In October 1914, F. Von Bernhardi (General in German Army) published his book entitled Germany and the Next War. In this book, he mentioned the possibility of revolution breaking out in India and if British military forces were tied up for a long time with a European War.5 This book was translated into English and widely acclaimed by Indian revolutionaries as a secure sign of German willingness to help.6 On 6th March 1914, the Berliner Tageblatt published an article on “England’s Indian Trouble” in which he took a gloomy view of the Indian situation and predicted that the day of reckoning for England would come “far sooner than official negligence dreams of”. The article also stated that the English were faced with conspiracies and secret societies everywhere and these were spreading and aided from outside.7 Number of references with German connection were also found in the Ghadar paper even before the War. The Ghadar constantly incites its readers to rebel against the British because the Germans would help all Indian revolutionaries in their struggle to free India from British colonialism. In the issue of July 21, 1914, an article entitled The Ghadar in Switzerland - Connection with Germany was published. The writer argued that Germany will assuredly help any movement for the independence of India, because the prosperity of England is an eyesore of India. Therefore, it is essential that friendly relations should be established with journalists and political leaders. In future, Germany will be the best refuge for those Indian patriots who have to live away from their country.8 The same issue of the Ghadar contained a most significant reference to Germany and the Mutiny: “All intelligent people know Germany is an enemy of the Great Britain. We also are the mortal enemy of the British Government and an enemy of my enemy is my friend. As the

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day of revolution approaches, Germany will most assuredly help us. It is imperative to be friends with the German correspondences and political leaders and that they should be given information as to the progress of our movement. In the future, those patriots who are exiled would do to choose Germany as the country to live in”.9

On September 1, 1914, the Ghadar advised Indians to go back to India as it indicated that Turkey would ally with Germany against the British. It praised Germany as “the leader of Persia, Turkey, India and all the weak and subject nations”. A Mohammedan patriot wrote an article relating to the war between England and Turkey and indicates that it would be a good time to strike a blow for the freedom of India from British rule.10 In the issue of September 8, 1914, a Punjabi poem was published: “Mulk wich mucha deo ghadr Jaldi Hun lok bhi rang wata chale” Ughar gia frangi da paj sara German fateh England te pa chale” Lea mar France da mulk sara Rare Rus wi dand bhana chale”11

Even before his departure from the USA, Lala Hardayal is said to have remarked, “If I am turned out of this country (U.S.A.), I can make preparations for the mutiny in any other country. Our organization and our arrangements are so complete that the Ghadar will not be stopped by my leaving the country. I shall have to go Germany to make arrangements for the approaching Ghadar”.12 Maulvi Barakatullah wrote a paper entitled “Christian combination against Islam” in which he made the following remarks: “There is really one man who holds the peace of the world as well as the War in the hallow of his hand and that man is Kaiser Wilhelm, Emperor of Germany. Russia, England, France and Italy moved heavens and earth to create rebellion and disturbances within the Ottoman dominions, to egg the Balkan States on to a War against Turkey, to encourage the Cretans to join the Greeks and to force the passage into the Dardanelles, and finally are trying to call a conference of European powers - all this to compel Turkey to give up Tripoli. But the Emperor of Germany set all their tricks at naught and maintained the peace of the world and integrity of the Ottoman Empire. In case there be a conference of the European powers or a European War, it is the duty of the Muslims to be united, to stand by the Khalifa, with their life and property, and to side with Germany. Germany’s word alone is reliable; while the others blow the trumpet of independence, integrity, civilization and progress, but they at

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the same time go marching along through bloodshed, desecration of holy places, rapine and plunder”.13

In early 1915, A. Raman Pillai, an Indian student in Germany, wrote a pamphlet entitled “Germany: The Hope of India” in which he brought out the stock changes against British rule in India and explains the real feelings of Indians towards their rulers. He asserted “The Indians who are fighting against Germany are the enemies of India, they are merely a handful of beggars who serve the English for the piece of bread thrown to them. It is life-long wish of every Indian to free his country from the claws of the greedy English”.14 However, the deepening European crisis brought the Ghadarites and German officials closer. The Ghadarites in the United States and their counterparts (Berlin India Committee) in Germany were trying to act or conspire together and two basic circumstances developed to help them. First, the growing animosity between Germany and Britain. Secondly, they anticipated isolation and neutrality of the United States in the event of a war between the two other powers.15 In early years of the War, Germany realized that India was a crucial piece of the British Empire and Germans were too happy to provide India with the means to fight England. No doubt, the Ghadar party welcomed German financing due to a shortage of funds. The cooperation was based on give and take as referred to by Sohan Singh Josh: you give us arms and ammunition and train our people for revolution in India and we shall in return, create conditions of destabilization and revolution through armed struggle and to pay the way after the German victory.16 At the time of the , there was no evidence that Indian revolutionaries received assistance from Germany.17 However, after outbreak of the War, leaders of the Ghadar Party started informing the Indians about the incident of Komagata Maru. Both the War and the Komagata Maru incidents encouraged Ghadar to increase their mobilization activities. Meetings were arranged throughout the United States and leaders appealed to the people to return to their motherland to drive the Feringee out of India and end their suffering. It was natural that they should try to obtain help from Germany.18 During the course of the War, on the one hand, Ghadarites were appealing the Indians to go back to their country for revolution and on the other, they were trying to get support of the Germans against the British.19 The Indian revolutionaries living in Europe met in Berlin under the leadership of H.L. Gupta, a Bengali terrorist leader. They approached the Kaiser Wilhelm’s Government for help to drive the British out of India. The Germans wanted to win the War in Europe. They thought that the British were getting troops from all of their vast empire to fight in France. Most of these colonial troops came from India, especially the Punjab, in their hundreds and thousands. If the Indians could stir up a rebellion, the British army would be occupied up in India itself to restore order. Thus, the British and the French could be defeated in Europe. Moreover, the British would prefer defeat in Europe than to lose India.20 However, the Germans had two goals in mind in supporting the Ghadar conspiracy. First, they wanted armed rebellion in India to occur so that the

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British would be forced to send back the loyal Indian army from the Western front to India. Secondly, they sought to instill an anti-British spirit among the Indian soldiers on the Western front by playing upon the nationalist feelings of the Hindu sepoys and the religious pro-Turkish feelings of the Muslim soldiers, so that they wouldn’t fight with the same intensity against German troops, but surrender after creating a sham of military operations.21 Captain , German Officer in Washington D.C. summed up the German Government’s motives for helping the Ghadar Party in its conspiracy in the following way: “We did not go so far as to suppose that there was any hope of India achieving her Independence through our assistance, but if there was any chance of fomenting local disorders, we felt it might limit the number of Indian troops who could be sent to France and other theatres of the War”.22

The Berlin India Committee

The German Government gave employment to Virendra Nath Chattopadhaya, Champakaran Pillai and other Indians who were in Germany or Switzerland at that time. Chandra Kant Chakravarty and Hemendra Kishore Rakhsit were employed in the German Embassy at Washington D. C.23 In September 1914, Champakaraman Pillai approached the German Consul in Zurich and provided him with a summary of the objectives of the Indian revolutionary movement and tried to publish anti-British literature in Germany. The latter suggestion was apparently well received.24 In October 1914, he arrived in Berlin to be attached to the German Foreign Office. He founded the “Indian National Party” in Berlin, attached to the German General Staff, with its headquarters at 28 Wielandstrasse, Charlottenburg. The four leading members of this organisation, at time of its formation, were Champakaraman Pillia, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, Dr. Prabhakar and Dr. Abdul Hafiz.25 The work of the ‘Indian National Party’ was to produce and distribute anti-British literature which preached revolutionary sentiments among Indian prisoners in Germany and possibly also to act as spies among Indian troops operating in France.26 Later the ‘Indian National Party’ was renamed as the ‘Berlin India Committee’.27 However, it was absolutely an autonomous body in regular receipt of a specified monthly amount and occasional grants from the German Foreign Office. Its purpose was to take care of Indians living under the Central Powers to establish contacts with Indian revolutionaries elsewhere and to advise the German Government on Indian affairs.28 The first President of the Committee was Dr. Mansur Ahmad, a Muslim Urdu scholar from . The other members of the Committee included Lala Hardayal, , Maulvi Barkatullah,29 C.K. Chakravarty30, H.L. Gupta, Chattopadhyay and B.N. Dutta. The Ghadar Party members in the United States kept in close contact with the Berlin India Committee through the German Embassy in that country. It was decided that the Ghadar party would carry on revolutionary work in accordance with the direction of the Berlin India Committee. Moreover, the aim of the Committee

JSPS 26:1&2 184 was to secure arms and ammunition, send money and men who were trained in the manufacture and use of explosive and modern weapons to India for revolution. Other work of the Committee consisted of printing and distributing anti British literature and preaching sedition to Indian prisoners in Germany.31 Indians in Germany were not alone in their attempt in utilizing the War and securing German assistance against Britain. The Iranian and Egyptian nationalists too had formed their own Independence Committee in Berlin. Ever since their early contacts before the War, they had been working quietly and in a friendly way with the Indian nationalists in Europe. They were eager to unite their forces against their common enemy.32 The Ghadar leaders in America organized a meeting at Orwood Island, California on 4 June 1915. In this meeting, Ram Chandra claimed that German help for revolution in India had been received. It was also decided that Indians who wished to fight for their country would be sent to Germany where they would propagate anti-British sentiments among the Indian soldiers. A sum of $500 was collected for the Ghadar campaign.33 Ram Chandra was the sole leader of the Ghadar Movement in the U.S.A when the German financial help took on a concrete shape. He had a close connection with the German Consul in San Francisco and was entrusted with the task of sending men and arms to India. He received money from the German Consulate to carry on with the publication of the Ghadar and for other revolutionary activities.34 He received $26,000 from the Germans and professed to have spent it all. But it is stated that he had saved at least $10,000 for his own private purse. He asked the German Consul-General to increase the subsidy from $1,200 to $2,000 and give him a lump sum of $35,000.35 Ram Chandra and William Von Brincken from the German Consulate in San Francisco met and planned several revolutionary activities together. One night, at the end of 1914, Von Brincken went to the Ghadar press and drove away with bundles of Ghadar paper. Ram Chandra also composed Ghadar in various Indian languages under the title “Don’t fight with Germans because they are friends”. Von Brincken had made plans to send these copies of Ghadar to the European War Front where German planes would drop them among Indian troops fighting on the Western War Front.36 The first attempt at supplying German arms to India was made by a chartered ship, the Henry S, which sailed from Manila. But the British Government managed to capture it. After this unsuccessful attempt, H.L. Gupta was sent to Japan to purchase arms with German money but he returned without achieving his goal.37 The Maverick and Annie Larsen incident was another well-known attempt by the Ghadar Party to get arms into India with the assistance of the Germans. Both steamships were purchased with Germans money for the purpose of transferring arms to India. This plan to get arms and ammunition to India was started in the United States, a neutral country at the time of the European War.38

The Siam-Burma Scheme

Another important part of the Indo-German Conspiracy to incite revolution in India was the Siam-Burma Scheme. Under German leadership and finance, a

185 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy group of Ghadar Party members at the Chicago branch and in Siam began planning an invasion of India from Burma. The Ghadar conspirators in Chicago hoped to convert the Indians residing in Siam to the cause of freedom, train them in military warfare and send them to India for the intended revolution.39 Siam was considered particularly important by the Ghadarites for seducing the British forces there. The large number of were working in various capacities in the Siam region. Very shortly after the first issue of Ghadar was published, it began to be sent to Siam to exhort Indians there to participate in the freedom struggle. In Siam, Jiwan Singh, Inder Singh, Dharam Singh and Karam Singh played an important role in distribution of Ghadar.40 The Ghadar Party made plans for the training of 10,000 Indians who lived in Siam with help of German military experts. Indians would receive training in the Chandrai Jungle in Siam. H.L. Gupta, with the help of German Consulate at Chicago, persuaded the three German-Americans, George Boehm, Albert Wehde and Sterneck to train revolutionary Indians in Siam. Jacobson’s house in Chicago served as the meeting place to plan the Siam-Burma Scheme. German agents, according to this plan would supply arms from the United States and Mexico, some for Burma and the others for Siam.41 Successive parties of the Ghadarites started arriving in Bangkok from the Far East with the intention of travelling overland to India. Some of these parties made their way into Northern Siam and others left by sea with the intention of disembarking at Bandon and proceeding to Burma by land. On April 10, 1915, a party of 17 arrived in Bangkok from America and left the following day by train for a station in the north of Siam with the object of travelling overland to Burma.42 By the end of April 1915, it was estimated that about 100 Indians had passed through Bangkok and it was also noted that there was a tendency among the Sikhs previously resident in Siam to return to India. In the middle of July 1915, Jodh Singh, who sailed from San Francisco to Manila as one of Boehm’s party arrived in Bangkok.43 At Bangkok, he met Bhai Balwant Singh and Takar Singh of Kala Sangian, Kapurthala. Jodh Singh was one of the most important leaders in the Burma-Siam Plan. He was sent by Ram Chandra and asked him to coordinate activities of Ghadar cadre with German Consuls and military officers for training of Indian recruits for an attempt to liberate India through Siam and Burma.44 Other prominent Indians involved in this scheme were Sohan Lal Pathak, Harnam Singh, Santokh Singh, H.L. Gupta, Bhai Bhagwant Singh, Amar Singh and Bhagwan Singh.45 But the Siam-Burma Scheme was never carried out as one workable plan. Eventually, it failed without achieving any target. At the beginning of August 1915, Jodh Singh, Shiv Dayal Kapur, Balwant Singh were arrested for infringing the neutrality of Siam and after a time they were deported to . After the breakdown of the Scheme in the latter half of 1915, there was no further attempt by Ghadarites revolutionaries to organize an expedition in India.46 Turkey’s entry into the War against Britain created a strong anti-British feelings in Muslim States. The Ghadar Party and Germans decided to utilize these feelings in their favour.47 At the beginning of 1915, Maulvi Barkatullah, Kersamp and Tarak Nath Das went to Istanbul where they were received by and were assured by the Turkish Government of help in the task of

JSPS 26:1&2 186 formulating a plan of enlisting Indian War prisoners into a revolutionary Army.48 Some members of the ‘Young Turk Party’ started anti-British secret propaganda among the Mohammedan trading community in Rangoon and among Muslim soldiers for a mutiny against the British. Regiments such as the 130th Baluchis which arrived at Rangoon in November 1914, the Military Police of Burma and the Malay State Guides and 5th Infantry at Singapore consisted largely of . The Ghadarites took advantage of the pro-Turkish and Pan-Islam appeal to this class of soldiers. In collaboration with Turkish leaders, special articles were published in the in San Francisco.49 The Muslim population of Turkey was exhorted through the following words: “Rise, give up loyalty and preach revolution. Influence of Turkey to join Germany and spread conflagration throughout Muslim world and recover the lost territories. Go to Amir of Afghanistan and induce His Majesty to invade the Punjab and to recover throne of and thus to clear out the English ruffians and brigands. This is the proper time to save. Turkey and China from the grasp of the robbers-England, France and Russia. If you lose this opportunity, Turkey and China will be partitioned and Asia will be made home of slaves. Rise, Turkey rise. Join Germany in her . Germany is your friend, take her advice” Anarchists are supplying the Muslims of India and millhands with bombs to kill off the English”.50

The Indo-German Mission to Kabul

In March 1915, the German Foreign Office arranged for the dispatch of a Mission to the Suez Canal region for the purpose of distributing seditious leaflets among Indian soldiers there. Tarak Nath Das and M. P. Tirumal Achraya were the members of the Mission.51 A large number of cuttings from Germany and Austrian papers, dealing with the situation in India were sent to India. Those papers highlighted the issues of the Lahore Conspiracy Case, the dacoities in the South West Punjab and the Singapore Uprising. One paper published a picture of three Englishmen being stoned by Indians in the street of Calcutta. Another article began with the following words: “How many people who had hoped or believed that India was to have been a decisive factor in England’s discomfiture have been disillusioned? It was taken for granted that India would take the opportunity to rise and expel the century old robbers and oppressors.52 A revolutionary Committee was also formed in with headquarters in Berlin. Attempts were also made to combine the Muslim States against the British. Maulvi Obeidullah carried on negotiations for this purpose with various other Arab States.53 The Ghadar leaders in the USA were also interested in going to Turkey to reach the Indian frontier from the West. They thought that apart from their influence in the Court of Kabul, it would be relatively easy to get into contact with their comrades in India and to send them arms from there. In February

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1915, personally visited German Foreign Office and suggested that he, Maulvi Barakatullah and a few Indian prisoners of War should be included in Mission. Rudolf Nadolny, representative of the Foreign Office in the German General Staff, welcomed the proposal and it was accepted by the German Foreign Office. Mahendra Pratap was the formal head of the Mission and Dr. W. O. Von Hentig of the German Foreign Office was in-charge of its affairs.54 The Indo-German Mission left for Kabul on April 9, 1915. It arrived at Herat on August 24, 1915 and when they were received in durbar by the Governor, they showed him the proclamation of jehad issued with the authority of the Sultan of Turkey and promised that if Afghanistan would take part in the Holy War, Germany would lend officers and would arrange for cession of Afghanistan of India as far as Bombay and Turkistan as far as Samarkand.55 The main object of the Mission was to get favour of the Amir Habibullah of Afghanistan to take the German side and make Kabul a base for military training of Indians and their armed infiltration into India.56 Moreover, the Mission on their journey, visited the Turkish Sultan at Istanbul who gave him a letter for the Amir of Afghanistan. Maulvi Barkatullah procured a fatwa from Shiekh-ul- Islam asking the Muslims of India to join with the Hindus against the British. The Mission reached Kabul on 2 October 1915.57 The members of the Mission had been placed under a strong guard and they were not allowed to associate freely with the populace. According to James Campbell Ker, the Mission was not received with any warmth by the Amir of Afghanistan. The Amir told the Germans that he would not give them any assistance and directed them to leave the country by early 1916.58 Though the official attitude of the Afghan Government was not favourable, the Mission did receive some sympathy from local newspapers. In 1916, due to the illness of Mahmud Tarzi, the editor of the Siraj-ul-Akhbar, Mohammad Barakartullah undertook the responsibility to publish the article. In the issue of April 1916, the speech of Taraknath Das was indeed published. In his speech, he praised the work of the German officers employed in training the Ottoman Army and the intrepidity and bravery of the Turks. He points out that it was Germany and Austria who declared War and not the allies, that their reason for doing so was to purify the earth of the brutal atrocities practiced on mankind by their enemies and to save the unfortunate habitants of India, Egypt, Persia, and Africa from the English, French and Russians who had forcibly seized their countries and reduced them to slavery.59 ‘A Provisional Government of India’ was formed in Kabul on December 1, 1915. Mahendra Pratap was its President. Mohammad Barkatullah and Maulvi Obeidullah were appointed as the Prime Minister and Home Minister respectively.60 This ‘Provisional Government’ sent several letters to the royal princes of India as also one each to the King of Nepal and the Czar of Russia for collaborative onslaught on the British. Maulvi Obedullah Sindhi wrote series of letters to different influential persons of the Muslim world, describing the constitution of the Pan Islamic Army (Army of God) with headquarter at Medina. These letters were written on Yellow silk and sown up inside the lining of the coat of a special messenger who was to convey them in person to Mahmud

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Hasan for sending to proper places.61 Those Indians who had been under detention were released and some of them took up various secretarial jobs under this Provisional Government. In February 1916, Mahendra Pratap and Maulvi Obeidullah sent secret invitation to to join them at Kabul.62 In March 1916, two Indians named Shamsher Singh and Mirza Mohammad Ali accompanied by two servants named Aya Singh and Abdul Haq were dispatched from Kabul with letters to the Governor of Russian Turkistan and to the Czar of Russia. They also carried a letter, signed by Mohammad Barakatullah to the officer in-charge on the Russian Front, asking him to help the party in their journey.63 The Provisional Government also proposed to form an alliance with the Turkish Government. In order to achieve this objective Obeidullah addressed a letter to his friend, Maulana Mahmud Hasan. Another letter was written by Mohammad Mian Ansari to Sheikh Abdur Rahim of Hyderabad. These letters described the progress of Pan Islamic movement in Kabul and India, the arrival of the Government Turkish Mission and the formation of the Provisional Government.64 In August 1916, the Silk letters fell into the hands of the Punjab Government. Maulana Mahmud Hasan and four of his companions were arrested at the end of 1916. Thus, the Silk Letter Conspiracy did not produce any positive result for the revolutionaries either.65 W.O. Von Hentig left Afghanistan in late 1916, having realized that Amir Habibullah was too much under the influence of British to agree to a military campaign against India. Mahendra Pratap continued working in Afghanistan, but was finally expelled under pressure from the British.66

Split in the Ghadar Party

The German financial assistance created serious problems in the internal administration of the Ghadar Party. In January 1917, there was a tussle among the leaders of Ghadar Party over the funds received by Ram Chandra from the German Government. The leaders of the Ghadar Party were dissatisfied with Ram Chandra. This dissatisfaction was frequently mentioned in official reports. The most prominent among the dissatisfied was Bhai Bhagwan Singh who ‘desired’ to become the chief of the Ghadar Party. After his return from Panama, he demanded an inspection of Ram Chandra’s account and suspended him for six weeks on the ground that he had used funds subscribed by Indians in Panama for immoral purposes. In a meeting of the leading members, Bhai Bhagwan Singh proposed that Ram Chandra should hand over the funds and leave San Francisco. Ram Chandra made a counter proposal that secret work should be managed by a committee consisted of Ram Chandra, Bishan Singh Hindi and Harish Chandra. In the meeting, it was decided that Ram Chandra should not hold the position until his accounts were examined and approved.67 On January 6, 1917, a meeting of prominent Ghadar leaders was held. Harish Chandra Gupta presented his report on the accounts. He reported that money received by Ram Chandra had not been spent on the objects for which it had been given and false reports were sent to Germany. As a result of this report, Ram Chandra resigned from editorship of the Ghadar 68 Subsequently, Ram

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Chandra held a meeting with H.C. Gupta at Ashram Council on 13 January 1917 and developed an understanding with him. After hearing Ram Chandra’s explanation, H.C. Gupta concluded that his first opinion about Ram Chandra’s account was hasty. He said Ram Chandra may have been ‘careless but not been dishonest’. The Council passed a resolution declining to accept Ram Chandra’s resignation. Next day, Ram Chandra went to Yugantar Ashram to get possession of the Ashram’s papers but Bhai Bhagwan Singh drove him out from the press.69 As a result, the Ghadar Party had clearly split into two factions. One faction was mobilized under the leadership of Bhai Bhagwan Singh and they took possession of the Ghadar Press at 436 Hill Street, San Francisco and started publishing issues of Ghadar separately. The first issue of Ghadar under Bhai Bhagwan Singh’s editorship came out on March 14, 1917. But he was not so successful in getting money for Ghadar funds from the Germans.70 When he was forming a new party, Bhai Bhagwan Singh telegraphed Lajpat Rai to come and take charge of the whole revolutionary movement, but the latter declined saying that he had no past connection with Bhai Bhagwan Singh and did not wish to have one now, as their methods of working differed. Ram Chandra installed his new printing press at 1017, Valencia Street, San Francisco and started publishing Ghadar. He published the first issue of Ghadar on February 7, 1917.71 In this issue, he printed the names of patrons and staff of his group.72

Patrons Mahendra Pratap Editor- Ram Chandra Lala Hardayal Sub Editor-Gobind Bihari Lal Mohammad Barkatullah Printer- Sunder Singh Ghali.

According to Official Reports, the division in the Ghadar Party occurred because of disagreement over holding ranks within the Party. In a meeting at Sacramento on 27 February 1917, there was much criticism of Ram Chandra’s autocratic methods and for dismissing four men from the Ghadar Press. In another meeting held under the presidency of Umrao Singh, speeches were delivered against Ram Chandra accusing him for misappropriating party funds.73 Ram Chandra defended himself in a speech which he delivered in a meeting of Ghadar leaders at Sacramento. He remarked: “Listen brothers, I wish to speak to you about things that have been in my mind for a long time. In the first place remember we are being looked upon with jealous eyes. The Ghadar is not edited with money but with brains. Our enemies are trying to stop it. But today I am very sorry to say that our brethren are going to stop it. It is said that I have taken money that belongs to the fund. This is absolutely untrue. If there were hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, they would all be for the Ghadar alone. I and my wife sometimes eat only once a day. I do not wish to

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say anything more about myself. People are only jealous nothing more. You have no right to question the accounts. Barkatullah, Bhagwan Singh, Lala Hardayal and Ajit Singh are on their way to America. They will do everything and will be in a position to know whether I have done wrong or right.”

The Hindu-German Trials

After his speech, Ram Chandra’s supporters (about 100 in number) left the meeting. But others (about 50 in number) remained behind still accusing Ram Chandra.74 On April 5, 1917, the United States of America joined the War supporting the British side. This highly significant event altered the whole context in which the Ghadar Party had been functioning in the USA. The British Government mounted pressure on the US Government to take urgent action against the Indians for their anti-British activities on her territories. Thus, within two days of America’s entry into the War, the U.S. Attorney John W. Preston arrested most of the prominent Indian Nationalists including Ram Chandra, Bishan Singh, Gopal Singh, Nidhan Singh, C.K. Chakravarty and Taraknath Das. German agents in the USA like Frank Bopp, Von Schack, and Wilhelm Von Brinchen etc. were also arrested. Both Germans and the Ghadar activists were charged with sending men and arms to India in an attempt to usurp . They were also charged under Section 37 of the Federal Penal Code for violating the neutrality of the United States.75 The Conspiracy Case, also popularly known as Chicago Trials or the Hindu German Conspiracy Case, was instituted in San Francisco by the United States Government against the Germans and Indians. These trials began on 22 November and ended on 3 April 1918.76 The trials are considered a “wild goose chase” amongst historians and certainly weakened Ghadar activism in San Francisco. They were one of longest and most costly trials America had seen.77 Among the trial of 105 persons, 36 were Indians, the rest being German Consular, officials and American businessman and professionals.78 The German agents - Frank Bopp, Von Schack, Wilhelm Von Brinchen were also convicted in a supplementary trial. Franze Bopp and Von Schack got two years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.79 Jacobson, George Boem and Albert Wehde were sentenced to three years of imprisonment and a $13,000 fine for each. Among the Indians, Bhai Bhagwan Singh and Santokh Singh were given eighteen months and twenty months imprisonment respectively. H.L. Gupta was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and given a $200 fine.80 The trials ended with a dramatic event. On the last day, Bhai Ram Singh Dhuleta, belonging to the group of Bhai Bhagwan Singh, shot Ram Chandra dead in the court premises. Immediately, one of the marshals shot at Bhai Ram Singh as well. The Ghadar leaders were greatly upset with the attitude of Ram Chandra.81 For many years, this episode of Ram Chandra’s murder continued to cause friction between different groups of the Ghadar Party in the West Coast of America as well as in India. The critical question was why was Ram Chandra murdered in the court premises? According to A.B Ganguly, there were some allegations against Ram Chandra that

191 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy he had been working as a spy of the British Government. Therefore, true Ghadarites could not but think of murdering him.82 The Hindu-German Trials effectively nipped the growing seeds of anti-British sentiments in the United States in the bud. The Indo-German Conspiracy disclosed that there was no scope for reviving revolutionary activities once again in the USA. The trials demoralized the Indian community as they realized they ‘mistakenly trusted’ the movement’s leaders. It became increasingly difficult to ascertain who was trustworthy within the community. After the trials, the Ghadar was, in essence, disbanded as most of the leaders were in Jail. After the trials, the Ghadar transformed into a quiet and subdued underground operation. The Berlin India Committee, after 1917, devoted its energy mainly to the propaganda of war, giving up all hopes of a rebellion in India. The First World War ended with the complete defeat of the Axis Powers and Germany ceased to be the theatre of the revolutionary activities of the Indians.83

Conclusion

Thus, the Ghadar Party in the United States, the Berlin India Committee in Germany and various German officials in the United States and Germany came together to create a revolutionary uprising in India. This alliance was built on a common understanding: the Ghadarites wanted to drive the British out of India through an armed insurrection with German help and the German Government sought to limit the use of British troops on European fronts during the Great War by creating trouble in India by supporting the Ghadarites. If successful the uprising may have forced the British to send back their loyal Indian troops from the Western Front in Europe to India. Different schemes were organised by the Ghadarites and the Germans to supply arms and ammunition to India for the revolution. The Indo-German Mission was sent to Kabul with the purpose to get favour of Afghanistan against British rule. But after the entry of the USA into the War, this ‘conspiracy’ could not materialize. The Ghadar party leaders and German officials in the United States were put on trial on the grounds that they had violated the United States’ neutrality laws during the War. After the trials, Indian revolutionary activities declined considerably in the USA.

Notes

1 R.C. Majumdar, History of Freedom Movement in India, Vol. II, (Calcutta: KLM, 1971), p. 402. See also, Bipin Chandra, India’s Struggle for Independence 1857-1947, (New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1988), p. 146.

2 Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World War 1914-1918, Rare Documents, Accession No. 11276, DBYL, Jalandhar, p. 3.

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3 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922: In the Background of International Developments, (Patna: Bharati Bhawan, 1971), pp. 82-83.

4 Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World War 1914-1918, p. 3.

5 George MacMunn, Turmoil & Tragedy in India: 1914 and After, (Delhi: S.S. Publishers, 1989), p. 116.

6 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922, p. 83.

7 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, (Calcutta: Asiatic Society, 1960), p. 239. See also, Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World War 1914-18, p. 2; George MacMunn, Turmoil & Tragedy in India: 1914 and After, p. 116.

8 Weekly Report of Director of Criminal Intelligence (hereafter DCI’s), 15 September 1914: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, December 1914, File Nos. 216-217 (NAI, New Delhi).

9 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy”, Manuscript, Accession No. 113313, DBYH, Jalandhar, March 22, 1973, p. 4. (emphasis added)

10 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy”, Manuscript, p. 6.

11 Translation: (i) Go Back to your country for mutiny: the people have been transformed; (ii) The Firanghee has been exposed; Germany is going to defeat England; (iii) Germans have taken the whole of France; and Russia too has been dismantled: Home Department, Political B, Proceedings, GOI, October 1915, File No. 91 (NAI, New Delhi).

12 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy”, Manuscript, p. 6.

13 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 238.

193 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy

14 DCI’s Weekly Report, 16 March 1915: Home Department, Political- B, Proceedings, GOI, April 1915, File Nos. 412-415 (NAI, New Delhi).

15 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy”, p. 6.

16 Sohan Singh Josh, Hindustan Gadar Party: A Short History, Vol. II, (New Delhi: People’s Publishing House, 1977), p. 13.

17 DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 August 1915: Home Department, Political- B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New Delhi).

18 DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 August 1915: Home Department, Political- B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New Delhi).

19 Raj Kumar, Empire, The Punjab and The First World War, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, (: Guru Nanak Dev University, 2016), pp. 138-45.

20 “The Indo-German Plan to Liberate India”, Heritage Bulletin, July 23, 1996, No. 3, DBYL, Jalandhar, p. 25.

21 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy”, p. 8.

22 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy”, p. 4.

23 DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 August 1915: Home Department, Political- B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New Delhi).

24 Champakaraman Pillai was an Indian born political activist and revolutionary. He was born into a Tamil family of Trivandrum, Kerela. His father Chinnaswami Pillai was a head constable in the Headquarter office, Trabancore. He sent him to learn engineering at Zurich. In June 1912, a body called the “International Pro-India Committee” was formed in Zurich. Champakaraman Pillai was its president. In October 1914, he joined Berlin India Committee and merged the Pro-India Committee into it: James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, pp. 240-41.

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25 DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 August 1915: Home Department, Political- B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New Delhi). See also, James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907- 1917, pp. 241-42.

26 DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 August 1915: Home Department, Political- B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New Delhi).

27 N.N. Bhattacharya, “Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1891-1919”, The Panjab Past and Present, , Vol. VIII, October 1974, pp. 351- 365.

28 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922, pp. 91-92.

29 Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World War 1914-1918, Rare Documents, DBYL, Jalandhar, p. 6.

30 C.K. Chakravarti was born in 1882 and belonged to Bakarganj district of . He absconded after his connection with the Alipur Bomb Case in 1908 came to surface and lived in America. In January 1909, he left Bombay. In February, he was in with members of Indian revolutionary party. After a short stay here, and an equally short visit to the “” group in London, he went on to New York where he arrived on March 18, 1909. He paid a short visit to Germany in 1916. He was appointed by the German Government as an agent in the USA. He was regularly in touch with Berlin India Committee and presented his report to the German Government:, DCI’s Weekly Report, 25 November 1916; Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, November 1916, File No. 452-453. See also, DCI’s Weekly Report: 31 March 1917; Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, March 1917, File Nos. 625-628 (NAI, New Delhi).

31 Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World War 1914-1918, p. 6.

32 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922, p. 94.

33 DCI’s Weekly Report, 30 August 1915: Home Department, Political- B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New Delhi).

34 Ram Chandra popularly known as Ram Chandra Peshawari, was born in 1887 in Peshawar district. In 1907, he joined as a clerk in the Railway office at Lahore. He took prominent part in the agitation carried out by in 1907. In October 1908, he became

195 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy

editor of a weekly paper called Akash, started by Amir Chand. In March 1913, he arrived at Seattle (U.S.A). In May 1913, he accompanied Lala Hardayal on lecturing tour in the Pacific Coast. In January 1914, he went to San Francisco to join the staff of Ghadar. After the departure of Lala Hardayal from America in March 1914, he became editor of the Ghadar: DCI’s Weekly Report, 27 April 1918: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, May 1918, File Nos. 23-26 (NAI, New Delhi). See also, David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy”, pp. 7, 29.

35 DCI’s Weekly Report, 25 November 1916: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, November 1916, File Nos. 452-453 (NAI, New Delhi).

36 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy”, pp. 9, 29.

37 and Satindra Singh, Ghadar 1915: India’s First Armed Revolution, (New Delhi: R & K Publishing House, 1966), p. 48.

38 Meverick was an oil tanker which was purchased from Craize Steamship Co. for $27,000. It sailed from San Pedro (Los Angles) on 23 April 1915 for Socorro Island. The Annie Larsen was loaded with arms and ammunition and sailed from San Diego on March 15, 1915. The plan was that both ships would meet at Socorro Island where Maverick would take over the arms and ammunition and proceed to India for its delivery to Indian revolutionaries. The Schooner Annie Larsen arrived at its destination on March 18, 1915 but Maverick could not arrive. Therefore, the Annie Larsen returned without delivering consignment. The Maverick actually reached at the meeting place on April 30, 1915, almost a month and half after Annie Larsen left. Therefore, the whole scheme failed: Foreign and Political Department, Secret-War, Proceedings, GOI, June 1917, File Nos. 1-46 (NAI, New Delhi). See also, Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World War 1914-1918, p. 8.

39 DCI’s Weekly Report, 12 August 1916: Home Department, Political- B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1916, File Nos. 436-439 (NAI, New Delhi).

40 G.S. Deol, The Role of Ghadar Party in the National Movement, (Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1969), p. 156.

41 David Machado, The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy, Manuscript, p. 23.

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42 DCI’s Weekly Report, 11 May 1915: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, May 1915, File Nos. 855-858 (NAI, New Delhi).

43 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 264.

44 Heritage Bulletin, July 23, 1996, No. 3, DBYL, Jalandhar, p. 36.

45 G.S. Deol, The Role of Ghadar Party in the National Movement, p. 157.

46 DCI’s Weekly Report, 2 March 1918: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, March 1918, File Nos. 399-402 (NAI, New Delhi). See also, F. C. Isemonger and J. Slattery, An Account of The Ghadar Conspiracy (1913-15), (Meerut: Archana Publications, 1998, First Published 1919), p. 154.

47 Turkey joined hands with the Germans in the First World War on October 31, 1914: Raj Kumar, Empire, The Punjab and The First World War, p. 166; R.C. Majumdar, History of Freedom Movement in India, Vol. II, p. 412.

48 N.N. Bhattacharya, “Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1891-1919”, p. 362.

49 H.K. Puri, Ghadar Movement: Ideology, Organisation & Strategy, p. 93.

50 DCI’s Weekly Report, 15 September 1914: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, September 1915, File Nos. 216-217 (NAI, New Delhi).

51 Taraknath Das was a member of the first revolutionary society in Calcutta in 1903. He took a leading part in the formation of the Decca Anusilan Samiti in 1905. He left India in 1906 and after a short stay in Japan, he went to America, where he entered the University of California at Berkeley. In 1908, he started a revolutionary paper Free Hindustan from Berkeley: DCI’s Weekly Report, 29 December 1914: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, , File Nos. 278-282 (NAI, New Delhi). See also, James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 247.

52 DCI’s Weekly Report, 7 September 1915: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, September1915, File Nos. 582-585 (NAI, New Delhi).

53 N. N. Bhattacharya, “Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1891-1919”, p. 363.

197 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy

54 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922, p. 107.

55 DCI’s Weekly Report, 21 September 1915: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, September1915, File Nos. 582- 585(NAI, New Delhi).

56 H.K. Puri, Ghadar Movement: Ideology, Organisation & Strategy, p. 98.

57 J.S. Grewal, H.K. Puri, and Indu Banga (Eds.), The Ghadar Movement, Background, Ideology, Action and Legacies, (Patiala: Punjabi University, 2013), p. 167.

58 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 277. See also, DCI’s Weekly Report, 21 September 1915: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, September1915, File Nos. 582-585 (NAI, New Delhi).

59 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 278.

60 Mahendra Pratap, popularly known as Kunwar Mahendra Pratap was born in 1886. He got his early education under British headmasters and Muslim teachers all from Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College Aligarh. In December 1914, he left India for Europe to liberate India from the clutches of the colonial rule with outside support. He had become a big menace there for talking about foreign rule in India. He also tried his best to utilize the situation during the World War I to free India. He was one of the important members of the Indo-German Mission in Kabul. On December 1, 1915, he set up the first Provisional Government of India: James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, pp. 244, 277, 278. See also, Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World War 1914-1918, p. 8.

61 Maulvi Obeidullah was a converted Sikh who had been trained as Maulvi at Deoband School in the Saharanpur district, the United Provinces. He spent twelve years in Sind where he became an influential person and founded several Mohammedan Schools. He was able to put influence with his militant and anti-British ideas some of the staff, students and Maulana Mahmud Hasan, head Maulvi of the School. Maulvi Obeidullah wished to spread over India a Pan-Islamic and anti-British movement through the agency of Maulvis trained in the Deoband School. When the First World War broke out, he began to travel the country; he made his way to Sind, where he visited his friends and fellow Pan-Islamists and eventually proceeded via Quetta and Kandahar to Kabul arriving at the beginning of October 1915: Raj

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Kumar, Empire, The Punjab and The First World War, p. 183; James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 283; Michael O’ Dwyer, India As I Knew It (1885-1925), (Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1988 First Published 1925), pp. 180-181; N.N. Bhattacharya, “Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1891-1919”, p. 362.

62 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922, p. 111.

63 DCI’s Weekly Report, 22 July 1916: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, July 1916, File Nos. 441-445 (NAI, New Delhi).

64 Michael O’ Dwyer, India As I Knew It (1885-1925), p. 179. See also, Sedition Committee Report 1918, (Calcutta: Government Printing Press, 1918), p. 178.

65 Sedition Committee Report 1918, p. 179.

66 Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World War 1914-1918, p. 10.

67 DCI’s Weekly Report, 31 March 1917: Home Department, Political- B, Proceedings, GOI, March 1917, File Nos. 625-628 (NAI, New Delhi).

68 DCI’s Weekly Report, 31 March 1917: Home Department, Political- B, Proceedings, GOI, March 1917, File Nos. 625-628 (NAI, New Delhi).

69 DCI’s Weekly Report, 28 April 1917: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, April 1917, File Nos. 700-703 (NAI, New Delhi).

70 DCI’s Weekly Report, 28 April 1917: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, April 1917, File Nos. 700-703 (NAI, New Delhi).

71 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 283.

72 DCI’s Weekly Report, 28 April 1917: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, April 1917, File Nos. 700-703 (NAI, New Delhi).

73 DCI’s Weekly Report, 9 May 1916: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, May 1916, File Nos. 577-580 (NAI, New Delhi).

74 DCI’s Weekly Report, 4 November 1916: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, November 1916, File Nos. 452-453 (NAI, New Delhi).

199 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy

75 David Machado, The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy, Manuscript, p. 33.

76 Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, December 1917, File Nos. 225-226. See also, Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, May 1918, File Nos. 23-26 (NAI, New Delhi).

77 S. Siddiqui, “Wasted Heroism: Ghadar Propaganda and the Human Cost of Rebellion”, p. 87.

78 J. S. Grewal, H.K. Puri and Indu Banga (Eds.), The Ghadar Movement, Background, Ideology, Action and Legacies, p. 170.

79 DCI’s Weekly Report, 4 May 1918: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, May 1918, File Nos. 581-584 (NAI, New Delhi). 80 Jacobson was an agent of German Consul at Chicago. He and H. L. Gupta were mainly responsible for organizing the expedition to Siam and various attempts at running. Albert Wehde and George Boehm were sent to the East by Jacobson to supervise the work of the plot: DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 November 1917: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, November 1917, File Nos. 471-474; F. C. Isemonger and J. Slattery, An Account of the Ghadar Conspiracy (1913-15), p. 158.

81 DCI’s Weekly Report, 27 April 1918: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, May 1918, File Nos. 23-26.

82 Anil Baran Ganguly, Ghadar Revolution in America, (Delhi: Metropolitan, 1980), pp. 98-99.

83 N. N. Bhattacharya, “Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1891-1919”, p. 364.