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Amritsar had seen 2
hartals pass off peacefully in 1919; Europeans had been able to pass
through without any harassment but given riots elsewhere in Punjab the
British were taking no risks. Brigadier Dyer, Indian born, was brought
in and effectively given full martial powers after a riot on 10th April
had seen 3 Europeans killed, a female doctor severely beaten and schools
and banks attacked and burnt in the wake of the arrest and deportation
of a couple of influential local leaders. Dyer arrived on the 11th and
was immediately affected by the sight of 100 women and children cowering
in Gobindgarh Fort.
On the 12th with a
military escort he toured the city and was struck by the tension that
seemed to hang in the air. The next day he imposed a curfew beginning at
8 pm and also banned all meetings and processions. Again he toured the
city in the morning issuing the proclamation though it was later
revealed the posters were not spread city wide.
Around lunch time news
was received that a meeting had been called for later in the afternoon
at Jallianwala Bagh, less a garden, more a wasteland. Dyer debated a
while what to do or perhaps how to do it but by about 4.30 pm he was on
the move. Accompanied by 2 armoured cars and 90 native troops he
approached the garden. The arched gateway was too narrow for the
armoured cars, he revealed later at the enquiry that had they been able
to enter then he would have made full use of them. As it was he had to
suffice with the foot soldiers he had brought with him. A polyglot
mixture of Baluchi, Gurkhas and Sikhs, he had them line up either side
of the gate.
Dyer was convinced in
his heart that a full scale rebellion was in the makings and that this
garden was at the heart of it. he had been struck that the British had
fully lost control of Amritsar and he was determined to restore British
prestige. Rumours were spreading throughout the city that Sikh troops
loyal to the crown were going to refuse to fire on their own people and
that mutiny was on the cards. Maybe Dyer thought about Marcia Sherwood,
the doctor who had been beaten. Whatever went through his mind, he
determined British prestige should be restored in a wave of hot lead.
Without any warning for the crowd to disperse he ordered his men to
fire. And fire they did. At times they aimed for the middle of the crowd
where the mass of people was heaviest. At times they switched their aim
to people who were frantically trying to climb over the high walls that
enclosed the garden. But there was no escape. The troops had blocked the
one access point, unarmed men and women were left to run in paniced
desperation while the soldiers calmly took aim and fired.
Altogether they fired
1650 rounds into the defenceless crowd that was estimated between 15,000
and 20,000 and they killed 379. A further 1500 were wounded in the 10
minute shower of bullets.
Meanwhile on the street
where Ms Sherwood had been beaten soldiers forced Indians to crawl on
their bellies. High caste Hindus were humiliated often in the presence
of lower castes. Rather than restoring British prestige Brigadier Dyer
had merely further strengthened the hand of those who sought India's
liberty. Dyer was shunted out of sight despite some support he was of a
dying breed. Forcing Indians to crawl even turned the stomach of
Churchill, a man not known for his liberal attitudes to India. |
