Write a newspaper report on : a) the Jallianwala Bagh massacre b) the Simon commission
Answers
On Sunday, 13 April 1919, Dyer was convinced of a major insurrection and he banned all meetings; however this notice was not widely disseminated. That was the day of Baisakhi, the main Sikh festival, and many villagers had gathered in the Bagh. On hearing that a meeting had assembled at Jallianwala Bagh, Dyer went with Sikh, Gurkha, Baluchi, Rajput troops from 2-9th Gurkhas, the 54th Sikhs and the 59th Sind Rifles[4] they entered the garden, blocking the main entrance after them, took up position on a raised bank, and on Dyer's orders fired on the crowd for about ten minutes, directing their bullets largely towards the few open gates through which people were trying to flee, until the ammunition supply was almost exhausted. Dyer stated that approximately 1,650 rounds had been fired, a number apparently derived by counting empty cartridge cases picked up by the troops.[5] Official British Indiansources gave a figure of 379 identified dead,[6] with approximately 1,100 wounded.[7] The casualty number estimated by the Indian National Congress was more than 1,500 injured, with approximately 1,000 dead. This "brutality stunned the entire nation",[8]resulting in a "wrenching loss of faith" of the general public in the intentions of the UK.[9] The ineffective inquiry and the initial accolades for Dyer by the House of Lords fuelled widespread anger, later leading to the Non-cooperation Movement of 1920–22.[10]
Dyer was initially lauded by conservative forces in the empire, but in July 1920 he was censured and forced to retire by the House of Commons.[11] He became a celebrated hero in the UK among most of the people connected to the British Raj,[12] for example, the House of Lords,[13] but unpopular in the House of Commons, which voted against Dyer as a Colonel. He was disciplined by being removed from his appointment, was passed over for promotion and was prohibited from further employment in India.[14][15] Upon his death, Rudyard Kipling declared that Dyer 'did his duty as he saw it'.[16] The massacre some historians have argued caused a re-evaluation of the army's role, in which the new policy became minimum force, however, later British actions during the Mau Mau insurgencies have led Huw Bennett to question this school of thought.[17] The army was retrained and developed less violent tactics for crowd control.[18]Some historians consider the episode a decisive step towards the end of British rule in India.[19]
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(a) The Jallianwala Bagh massacre : A public meeting was announced for the 13th April, 1919, at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar to protest against the Rowlatt Act. The people were allowed to assemble there. After they had gathered there in thousands, General Dyer marched there with armoured cars and troops. Without giving any warning to the people to disperse, he ordered firing on the unarmed, and the peaceful people. The casualties among the Indians were very heavy. Dyer’s purpose in doing so was to ‘produce a moral effect’, to create in the minds of Satyagrahis, a feeling of terror and awe. This massacre of innocent people in thousands converted Mahatma Gandhi into a non-cooperator.
(b)The Simon Commission
(i) The Indian members of the Central Legislative Assembly exposed the drawbacks in the Government of India Act of 1919 A.D. As a result of it, the Simon Commission was appointed in 1927 A.D. to suggest any further constitutional reforms. This commission consisted of seven members and its Chairman was Sir John Simon.
(ii) Why was it boycotted by the Indians?
But Indians boycotted the Simon Commission, because there was no Indian member in this commission. The terms of the commission’s appointment did not give any indication of ‘Swaraj’, while the demand of the Indians was only ‘Swaraj’. Therefore, the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League and other parties decided to oppose the Simon Commission.
(iii) Methods : Indian people organised hartals all over the country. They also held black flag demonstration with the slogan, “Simon go back”, when the Commission reached Bombay (Mumbai). Such demonstrations were held everywhere it went.