Gandhi in Punjab

In the Punjab the situation was very critical, it was true that there were disturbances on the part of the people, but the measures adopted by the government to check the disturbances were too severe. The leaders were trying to keep the people peaceful, but the stern measures of repression taken by the authorities had few parallels in history.

In Amritsar the people were not allowed to move about freely. A proclamation was issued forbidding all gathering and meetings. Only a few had the chance to know about the proclamation, however, because it was not announced widely besides, it was made only in English. It was announced that a meeting was to be held in a garden called Jallianwala Bagh, to make a protest against the Government’s actions. General Dyer took no measures to prevent the meeting. However, he reached the place soon after the meeting began with armoured cars and troops.  Without giving any warning he ordered, “Fire till the ammunition is exhausted.”

The garden was surrounded by walls and buildings and had only one exit. At the first shot the was jammed and there was no hop of escape for the crowd. There were more than ten thousand people there. The soldiers fired over sixteen hundred rounds at the unarmed mass of people.

Once a public garden, the Jallianwala Bagh was now a scene of merciless massacre where hundreds of men, women, and children were butchered. However, the official figures given were: 379 killed and 200 wounded. Leaving the wounded and the dying on the ground the troops marched away. The words, “jallianwala Bagh’ had now become synonymous with massacre.

Bad as this was, there was other even more other even more shameful deeds executed all over the Punjab. Indians were ordered to crawl on their hands and knees. In addition General Dyer ordered that in certain areas all Indians were to alight from vehicles and salute whenever they passed a British officer. Furthermore, at certain places men were stripped naked and flogged. Students and children were ordered to walk and flogged. Students and children were ordered to walk miles for a roll call, to attend parades, and to salute the British flag. Then there was the stripping and flogging of people going to marriage parties, the censorship of communications. And cutting of water and electricity supplies of Indian families. The administration of General Dyer’s martial law created a reign of terror in the Punjab.

C. F Andrews, who had already reached the Punjab, wrote to Gandhi and begged him to come at once, Gandhi was equally keen to go, but his repeated requests for permission to visit the place were turned down by the government, Finally, in October that year, the viceroy granted him permission to visit the Punjab and Gandhi immediately proceeded.

On his arrival at the Lahore railway station, Gandhi found that almost the entire population of the city was there waiting for him.

The congress had appointed a committee to enquire into the atrocities committed in the Punjab. Gandhi was requested to join the committee in the Punjab. Gandhi was requested to join the committee now that he was there. He started a slow but most methodical investigation of the incidents in the Punjab.