Author 
 
 Title 
 
 Classil.O[„^„Q..i"f_. i Imprint 
 
 Jtt— ritsa'M-L GPO 
 
British Terror in India 
 
 By Surendra Karr 
 
 ---I 
 
 see 
 
 The glutton death gorged with devouring lives ; 
 Nothing but images of horror around me : 
 — all in blood, the ravish 'd vestals raving, 
 The sacred fire put out; robb'd mothers' shrieks 
 Deafening the gods with clamours for their babes. 
 That sprawled aloft upon the soldiers' spears; 
 The beard of age pluck'd up by barb'rous hands, 
 .While from their piteous wounds and horrid gashes. 
 The lab'ring life flowed faster than the blood." 
 
 Published hy 
 
 THE HINDUSTAN GADAR PARTY 
 
 5 Wood Street 
 San Francisco, California 
 United States of America • 
 
 1920. 
 
FOREWORD. 
 
 This illustrated booklet is a record of red months India 
 passed through in 1919. It describes plainly and frankly 
 the naked truth of the British character in exercising 
 unlicensed criminalities. 
 
 After its perusal, if the reader can picture in his or 
 her mind even a portion of India's sufferings and struggle 
 for Freedom, our efforts will be fully recompensed. 
 
 Materials used in preparation of this brochure are 
 taken from authentic, original sources, such as reports, 
 official publications, etc. Reports of the Indian National 
 Congress, which investigated the British atrocities in the 
 Punjab in perfectly cool and juristic manner, have freely 
 been used. 
 
0^ BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 "For me the battlefield of France, or Amritsar, is the same," 
 said General Dyer, the notorious English master of massacre in 
 India. He made his word good by shooting 'well and strong' and 
 by killing and wounding thousands of absoluteh^ defenseless men, 
 women and children. While in France, belligerents on both sides 
 were all equipped with arms and ammunitions, in the 'battlefield 
 of the Punjab,' the unarmed and unarmored people had to face 
 bombs and bullets of the English soldiers, well supplied with perfect 
 machineries of human destruction. 
 
 Dyer is not an isolated character in British imperialism. . 
 
 Massacre of unarmed people, outrage on women, and use of 
 children as fodders of cannon are not new plans in the British 
 system. Though some of the partners of the British Imperialism 
 many a time profess to be ignorant and apologetic, and make an 
 effort to shove the responsibility upon the torch bearers of bar- 
 barism, history bristles with glowing examples of misdeeds, inhuman 
 activities, ruthless repression, oppression and persecution wherever 
 the British have gone. 
 
 From the time of the East India Company down to the present 
 day, the same methods of cruelties are being perpetrated, whether 
 it be under company's servants, English planters in Indigo or 
 Poppy field, or in Assam tea plantations, English soldiers, English 
 Governors, down to a petty English official under Imperialistic 
 regime. Camouflaged cloak of humanity being taken away, the 
 true nature of an animal is clearly evident from English nature. 
 
 The evolutionary growth of the English has been, from pirate 
 to persecutor, whirling around where they stood two centuries ago. 
 Their vision has been dulled by selfish, hypnotic influence of hypoc- 
 risy, fraud, and deception, which are dragging humanity to the 
 depth of fiendish aggression and exploitation. 
 
 India is the flaming instance of failure of any kind of imperial- 
 istic design. Economic exploitation, secured through political domi- 
 nation, was the motive that actuated the English to venture out 
 into the wide world as desperadoes. The result has been — usurpa- 
 tion of the power of the people, destruction of every vestige of 
 liberty and happiness, ushering of an era of famine and pestilence, 
 introduction of illiteracy and ignorance, and infliction of frightful 
 cruelties and injustice. 
 
4 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIxV. 
 
 India has all along remained discontented. The people have 
 not forgotten the way the English took control of the sovereignty 
 of India during the period of transition, when efforts were being 
 made to establish a new order in place of the old. 
 
 Their political, economic, social and intellectual life has rudely 
 and relentlessly been destroyed. Fresh in memories, generation 
 after generation, of the cruelties and injustice of English merchants 
 and rulers, destruction of industrial system and obstructing the 
 progress in agricultural methods, discontent of the people, who feel 
 the pinch of hunger and absence of freedom, whenever opportunity 
 and occasion have arisen, have burst into volcanic eruption. 
 
 PROGRESS OF REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS. 
 
 The Parliamentary report of 1812 on the affairs of the East 
 India Company describes a revolutionary movement during that 
 period. In 1857, India waged an organized War of Independence. 
 In 1878, Lord Lytton's policy of reaction and repression threw the 
 country into insurgency against the British rule. In 1883-84, India 
 was in furious excitement over the Ilbert bill, and revolutionary 
 activities were common. In spite of the constitutional activities of 
 the Indian National Congress, which was organized in 1885, an 
 undercurrent of political discontent was flowing in the country. 
 Partition of Bengal, a product of policy of Divide et impera — be- 
 came the culmination of perfection of revolutionary organization 
 with scientific precision. 
 
 REPRESSIVE MEASURES. 
 
 Since then, the British have promulgated official secret acts, 
 the newspaper acts, the criminal law amendment act, the seditious 
 meeting act, the Indian press act, the conspiracy act, and the 
 defense of India act. In addition, the deportation regulations of 
 1818, 1819, and 1827 have regularly been resorted to. But none 
 of them have been effective in rooting out discontent and rightful 
 revolutionary activities. 
 
 England had no right to establish her supremacy over India, 
 who is quite capable of taking care of herself. India has never 
 sought any mandate over her. The people, therefore, have every 
 right — legally and ethically — to sever connections completely with 
 England and her imperialism. India, with one-fifth of the human 
 race, impelled by a mission, not only for herself, but humanity as 
 well, is determined to establish the motto : ' ' Live and let live. ' ' 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 5 
 
 During sucli state of affairs, tension and tendency, came the 
 world's Armageddon. The people, being fully cognizant of the 
 actual causes, had no direct interest in the war ; yet India must 
 pay the price with men and money to save the empire. 
 
 The British Government became so nervous that an ordinance 
 was passed to the effect that those who would oppose the British 
 rule in India should be emphatically denied the privilege of aid 
 of counsel and right of appeal. And trial should be made as rapid 
 as possible, without having any jury, and be held in Camera. The 
 members of the Gadar party were mercilessly treated, and injustice 
 was inflicted on hundreds of innocent men, women and children. 
 
 RECRUITMENT. 
 
 Then followed a period of recruitment of men for the British 
 Army. The methods employed to secure recruits and donations or 
 loans, were magnificent instances of barbarities. 
 
 Theoretically, the British Government declared India should 
 be asked to volunteer, but when the people failed to respond to the 
 call to arms, they were compelled, and the government took the 
 power to enforce the quota allotted to provinces. 
 
 The government demanded for war purposes from half to one- 
 fourth of the income on v/hich a person is actually assessed for 
 income tax. 
 
 Whenever there has been a failure of contribution, compulsion 
 was resorted to. Sessions Judge Coldstream, an Englishman, 
 remarked that methods to raise the war loan and to find recruits 
 led to severe friction in many places. 
 
 METHODS OF RECRUITING. 
 
 In many places every holder of a lot of land was compelled to 
 pay the value of one acre of land to the government. The British 
 Government tempted low officials with promotion and title. They 
 invented various ingenious ways of recruiting. 
 
 A list of all men in a village was prepared, and then a recruit- 
 ing officer would ask a family of three or four brothers to provide 
 one or two recruits for the army. 
 
 If any male member of a family did not volunteer, the women 
 folks were ill-treated in order to induce their relations to enlist. 
 It is reported that many of the men were made to stand naked 
 in presence of their women-folk. The women had been tormented 
 with thorns and men were confined between thorny bushes. 
 
b BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 To secure one recruit, in many places the entire village had 
 been punished. Their homes had been looted and furniture burnt. 
 Water was cut off so that land could not be irrigated. In refusal 
 to "volunteer," the British soldiers had fired upon peaceful people, 
 causing enormous casualties. 
 
 PROPORTION. 
 
 Proportion of recruitment through compulsion in the Multan 
 District, according to Michael O'Dwyer, Lieutenant-Governor of 
 Punjab, was 1 in 586 in 1917, but at the end of November, 1918, the 
 number rose to 1 in 93. In Gujranwala there was one man in every 
 44 of the total male population, and one in every 14 of military age. 
 
 This success of recruitment can only be possible due to coercion. 
 
 STATEMENTS OF LEADING CITIZENS. 
 
 Method of recruitment will further be evident from the follow- 
 ing statement of Sardar Khan of Gujranwala before Congressional 
 Investigation Committee : 
 
 ''Tahasildar (revenue officer who was given the charge of 
 recruiting) came to our village in the month of Baisakh (April- 
 May). At night it was proclaimed by beat of drum that all should 
 present themselves in the morning at the village Daira (community 
 center). As it was harvest time, and also as the people were afraid 
 of being forcibly taken as recruits, only a sm^all number of people 
 attended in the morning. The officer, therefore, fined some 60 or 
 70 persons. 
 
 "The people were again ordered to present themselves at the 
 headquarters at Gujranwala, which is 18 miles off. When the 
 people went there on the fixed day they were made to stand in a 
 row, and seven young men were picked out. The others were 
 abused and beaten and told to bring more recruits. ' ' 
 
 Sardar Sant Singh, a pleader of Lyallpur, says: 
 
 "Lambardar (tax collector) had to furnish recruits on the 
 penalty of forfeiting the Lambardari (power of tax collection) 
 rights. Value of a recruit was Rs. 500. Magistrates sent the people 
 to lock-up until they agreed to furnish recruits. Criminal prosecu- 
 tion was withdrawn on the accused agreeing to offer himself as a 
 recruit. ' ' 
 
 Such is the way India was made to fight for the British 
 Empire. 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 7 
 
 FOOD CONSCRIPTED TO MANUFACTURE ALCOHOL. 
 
 After such frightful forcible ' ' volunteerism ' ' of men and money 
 power of India, those who were fortunate enough to be left 
 behind were made to feed the British soldiers on various war 
 fronts. The British Government conscripted the entire wheat prod- 
 uct of the country (India is the third wheat producing country 
 in the world), so that British soldiers could be kept fattened and 
 intoxicated by alcohol manufactured from rice and wheat. 
 
 INQUISITION. 
 
 Lest the people of India — unarmed, defenseless men, women 
 and children of India — rise unitedly to secure their long wished for 
 freedom, the British Government decided to tie the hands and 
 feet, and throttle the voice of the people. Every vestige of freedom, 
 of thinking or movements, if there was anything left, was destroyed 
 by introduction of inquisitional methods of repression. 
 
 The Rowlatt bills were passed, after armistice was signed, in 
 accordance with recommendations of Rowlatt Commission, who 
 investigated revolutionary activities, confining themselves to police 
 records and to opinions of British bureaucracy in India. The peo- 
 ple of India unanimously opposed the passage of the bills. The fol- 
 lowing were the provisions of the Rowlatt bills: (For full text of 
 the bills read "Inquisition in India," the Nation, June 28, 1919.) 
 
 1. Any Indian is subject to sudden arrest without warrant, upon 
 
 suspicion, and detention without trial for an unlimited dura- 
 tion of time. 
 
 2. The burden of proof rests upon the accused. 
 
 3. The accused is kept ignorant of the names of his accusers and 
 
 of witnesses against him. The accused is not confronted 
 with his accusers or with witnesses against him, and is 
 entitled only to a written account of the offenses attributed 
 to him. 
 
 4. The accused is deprived of the help of a lawyer, and no wit- 
 
 nesses are allowed in his defense. 
 
 5. The accused is given a secret trial before a Commission of 
 
 three High Court Judges, who may sit any place they deem 
 fit. The method of their procedure or their findings may 
 not be made public. 
 
 6. Trial by jury is denied. The right of appeal is denied. ''No 
 
 order under this Act shall be called into question in any 
 
8 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 court, and no suit or prosecution or other legal proceedings 
 shall be against any person for anything which is in good 
 faith done or intended to be done under this Act." 
 
 7. The accused may be convicted of an offense with which he is 
 
 not originally charged. 
 
 8. The prosecution "shall not be bound to observe the rules of 
 
 the law of evidence." Prosecution may accept evidence of 
 absent witnesses. (The witnesses may be dead or may never 
 have existed). 
 
 9. The authorities are given power to use "any and every means" 
 
 in carrying out the law and in obtaining confessions. In 
 other words, torture. 
 
 10. Any person possessing "seditious" documents, pictures or 
 
 words intending that the same shall be published or circu- 
 lated, is liable to arrest and imprisonment. "Sedition" 
 has been legally held to mean disaffection, i. e., absence of 
 affection for the British Government. 
 
 11. Men who have served prison terms for political offenses may 
 
 be restricted to certain specific areas, must report regularly 
 to the police, cannot change address without notification to 
 authorities and must give securities for good behavior. They 
 can never thereafter attend public meetings, or write or dis- 
 cuss publicly any subject of public interest, either educa- 
 tional, religious, social or political. 
 
 12. Any person (even the family) voluntarily associating Avitb 
 
 an ex-political prisoner may be arrested and imprisoned. 
 
 13. Search without warrant of any suspected place or home. 
 These measures do not need any explanation. They speak for 
 
 themselves. 
 
 PRESS MUZZLED. 
 
 During the trial of Mr. Kali Nath Roy, an aged Editor of the 
 Lahore Tribune, who constitutionally criticized actions of the 
 British Government, the British judge interpreted Sec. 124-A of 
 the Indian Penal Code, which includes waging war against King of 
 England, thus : 
 
 1. To say that government has exposed itself to severest criticism 
 
 at the bar of the public opinion ; 
 
 2. To protest against the use of an Act which is in operation; 
 
 3. To say in connection with any measure of the government that 
 
 its action is unjust and unwarrantable ; 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 9 
 
 4. To sympathize with people who have been shot dead by the 
 
 military forces of the e:overnment by calling them martyrs; 
 
 5. To attribute "blazing indiscretion" to the ruler of a province; 
 G. To publish the report of an incident which gives new facts or 
 
 contradicts in any way an official communique on the subject. 
 It is evident how the press was perniciously suppressed. 
 
 BRITISH ESTABLISHES STATE OF ANARCHY. 
 
 Patience of people was lost in an atmosphere where civilization 
 and culture were not within the harness of law. It was a state 
 of anarchy established and maintained by militaristic regime of 
 the British Government in India. 
 
 Tense feeling of the people at once assumed an active co- 
 operation of all sections in order to counteract these oft-repeated 
 inhuman methods of British imperialism. The people awakened 
 to realize the responsibilities that lie on their shoulders to root 
 out the British evils from the society. Their decision and deter- 
 mination necessitated united, action. 
 
 SATYAGRAHA MOVEMENT. 
 
 They therefore pledged themselves to launch a Satyagralia 
 movement. 
 
 Satyagraha literally means ''holding on truth" or, in other 
 words, "truth force," "love or soul force," according to Mr. M. K. 
 Gandhi, the author of the movement. It means vindication of 
 truth, not by infliction of suffering on the opponent, but one's 
 own self. 
 
 Just as Daniel dem.onstrated the futilitj^ of the laws of the 
 Medes and Persians by his disobedience, and Socrates embraced 
 s:allows preaching truth to Athenian youth, the Satyagrahis in 
 India becam.e determined to compel the British Government to 
 withdraw its unjust laws by civil resistance ; that is, the people will 
 suffer the penalty for the breach of those unjust measures, but will 
 not recognize the right of the British to enforce them. 
 
 PROCLAMATION ABOUT SATYAGRAHA. 
 
 The following proclamation was then made by Mr. Gandhi on 
 March 24, 1919 : ^ 
 
 "On the 6th of April, 1919, when Rowlatt bills will ])e enacted 
 into law, the people were advised : 
 
10 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 ''A— Twenty-four hours fast. It is to be regarded for the Satya- 
 grahis as a necessary discipline to fit them for civil dis- 
 obedience, contemplated in their pledge, and for all others, 
 as some slight token of the intensity of their wounded 
 feelings. 
 
 ' ' C — All work, except such as may be necessary in the public inter- 
 est, should be suspended for the day. Markets and other 
 business places should be. closed. Employees who are 
 required to work even on Sundays may only suspend work 
 after obtaining previous leave. 
 
 ' ' D — Public meetings should be held on that day in all parts_ of 
 India, not excluding villages, at which resolutions protesting 
 against Rowlatt bills should be passed. 
 
 Plainly speaking, it means a general strike of people of every 
 walk of life — proletariat and bourgeoise — so that brute force of the 
 British becomes an impossibility. As the people are deprived of 
 right of carrying any arms, Satyagraha as a matter of fact is a nega- 
 tion of violence. 
 
 The people might say to the British Government: We do 
 not recognize your right to enforce law^s not enacted by consent of 
 the people. "We shall, therefore, not obey. Do what you please. 
 
 PEOPLE OPEN FREE RESTAURANTS. 
 
 After declaration of general strike it was decided by citizens 
 of Lahore to open Langar KJmnas, i. e., free restaurants, to avoid 
 danger of starvation. The Langar Khanas were run by voluntary 
 subscriptions. Colonel Johnson, an English official, subsequently 
 issued an order stopping all the free restaurants. 
 
 HUGE MEETINGS. 
 
 Thus making arrangements for provisions, the people planned 
 to hold meetings in various places. The first meeting was held at 
 Amritsar, Punjab, on the 30th of March, 1919. It is said that 
 30,000 to 35,000 persons attended. 
 
 Dr. Saif-ud-din Kitchlew, Ph. D., a barrister, urged in course 
 of his speech to sacrifice personal over national interest. He asked 
 them to act according to their own conscience, though this might 
 send them to jail, bring an order of internment on them. He said : 
 ''Do not cause pain or distress to any one. Go home peacefully. 
 Take a walk in the garden. Do not use harsh words in respect of 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 11 
 
 any policeman, or traitor, which might cause him pain or lead to 
 the possibility of a breach of the peace or a riot. ' ' 
 
 INTERNMENT OF LEADING CITIZENS. 
 
 On the 3rd of April, 1919, an order of the following nature 
 was served upon leading citizens of Amritsar, including Dr. Saty- 
 apal, a medical practitioner ; Pandits Kotu Mai and Dina Nath, and 
 Swami Anubhananda (a monk) : 
 
 ''They shall until further orders remain and reside within the 
 municipal limits of Amritsar City; refrain from communicating, 
 either directly or indirectly, with the press, and refrain from con- 
 vening, or attending, or addressing in writing, or otherwise, any 
 public meeting." 
 
 On the 6th of April, however, a meeting was held under presi- 
 dency of Mr. Badrul Islam Khan and 50,000 attended. A govern- 
 ment report says : 
 
 ' ' The only fault found with the speeches is that they informed 
 all of us of the real object of the Rowlatt Act." 
 
 HINDU - MOSLEM FRATERNIZATION. 
 A Red Rag for John Bull. 
 
 The 9th of April was the great Ram Naumi Day, the Hindu 
 religious festival. It was decided that there should be complete 
 fraternization between Hindus and Mohammedans on that occasion. 
 There was a big procession, and everywhere Hindus and Moham- 
 medans embraced each other as brothers. An epoch of national 
 consciousness was ushered in India. 
 
 But this Hindu-Moslem unity enraged the British officials, 
 and they decided to deport Drs. Kitchlew and Satyapal, the two 
 leading men in the movement. ' In Lahore Colonel Johnson served 
 notice to the effect that ''No Hindu would be allowed to enter the 
 Badshahi Mosque — a Mohammedan church." 
 
 On April 10th, as soon as the news of the deportation spread 
 through Amritsar, people gathered together to plead for the release 
 of their leaders. 
 
 MILITARY FIRES. 
 
 It was a gathering of unarmed, peaceful people; but without 
 any warning, the military fired upon the crowd, killing and wound- 
 ing some of them. The people got excited and enraged, and carried 
 
12 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 with them the killed and wounded. The sight of the wounded per- 
 sons and dead bodies inflamed the citizens who saw them. As they 
 did not have any firearms, the only way the people could defend 
 themselves from the military forces was to arm themselves with 
 sticks and pieces of wood. 
 
 The military, however, at once fired, killing about 25 and 
 wounding many. 
 
 WOUNDED NOT CARED FOR. 
 
 The wounded did not receive any care. When some desired to 
 give first aid to the wounded, Plomer, an English deputy police 
 superintendent, prohibited and said that the ivounded would make 
 their own arrangements. An English nurse — Mrs. Easden of the 
 Zenana Hospital — on seeing the wounded, laughed and said that 
 the Hindus and Mohammedans had got ivhat they deserved. 
 
 One can very well picture the mind of the excited mob. Banks 
 were looted, ransacked, and various public buildings burned. Two 
 of the National Bank officials were murdered. Miss Sherwood, 
 an English teacher, while cycling through the excited crowd, was 
 mistaken for Mrs. Easden, who laughed and jeered at the wounded, 
 and was attacked, but was rescued when recognized by the Indians 
 themselves. 
 
 The police, instead of making any effort to protect the lives 
 of innocent persons, rather helped themselves to the bank prop- 
 erties, etc. 
 
 All this happened in the afternoon on the 10th. In the evening 
 everything was quiet and military took control of the city. 
 Perfect peace prevailed. 
 
 On the 11th General Dyer arrived, and first thing he did was 
 the wholesale arrests of the people. 
 
 Early in the morning the people wanted to dispose of the d^ad 
 bodies, and desired to hold a funeral procession. But the military 
 authorities sneered in such a. way that the people got dissatisfied 
 with their attitude. 
 
 In the meantime, supply of electricity and water was cut off, 
 and no food was permitted to enter the city. 
 
 RED NEW YEAR'S DAY. 
 
 Thirteenth of April was Baisakhi — the Hindu New Year's 
 Day. It was announced that a big meeting would be held at 4:30 
 p. m. at Jalleanwala Bagh. General Dyer got information at 12 :45 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 13 
 
 p. m., and started sharpening his sword. At the appointed time, 
 it is said there were 5,000 to 20,000 people present. The audience 
 included many boys and girls, and some had come with infants in 
 their arms. The people absolutely did not have any weapon with 
 them. Some of the Secret Service men were also present. 
 
 WHAT IS JALLEANWALA BAGH? 
 
 Jalleanwala Bagh is an open piece of waste land surrounded 
 by houses. The main entrance is a narrow passage. There were 
 no other regular entrances excepting a narrow opening at four or 
 five points. The ground at the entrance is an elevation, remarkably 
 fit for posting soldiers and firing upon a crowd in front. The 
 crowd, therefore, had no easy exit, 
 
 WHAT DYER DID. 
 
 General Dyer, with two armored cars and 90 soldiers pro- 
 ceeded to Jalleanwala Bagh, where the meeting was being held, at 
 the ordinary walking pace. He reached the Bagh about 5 or 5 :15 
 p. m. As soon as he arrived Dyer deployed soldiers to the right 
 and left. 
 
 COLD-BLOODED MASSACRE, 
 
 This is what he did afterwards, according to his own testimony 
 before Hunter Commission: (Questions put by Commission and 
 answered by General Dyer.) 
 
 Q. When you got into the Bagh what did you do ? 
 
 A. / opened fire. 
 
 Q. At once ? 
 
 A. Immediately. Don't imagine it took me more than 30 
 seconds to mahe up my mind as to ivhat my duty was. 
 
 Q. As regards the crowd, what was it doing? 
 
 A. Well, they were holding a meeting. There was a man in 
 the center of the place on something raised. His arms were moving 
 about. He was evidently addressing. He was absolutely in the 
 center of the square as far as I could judge. I should say 50 or 
 60 yards from where my troops were drawn up. 
 
 Q. Before you dispersed the crowd, had the crowd taken any 
 action at all? 
 
 A. No, sir. They had run away, a few ol: them, 
 
14 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 Q. Did they start to run away? 
 
 A. Yes. When I began to fire the big mob in the center began 
 to run almost toward the right. 
 
 Q. Martial law had not been proclaimed. Before you took 
 that step, which was serious, did you not consider as to the propriety 
 of consulting the deputy commissioner, who was the civil authority 
 responsible for the order of the city? 
 
 A. There was no deputy commissioner to consult at that time. 
 I did not think it wise to ask anybody further. I had to make up 
 my mind immediately as to what my action should be. I considered 
 it from the military point of view that I ought to fire immediately, 
 that if I did not do so I should fail in my duty. 
 
 Q. In firing was it your object to disperse? ^ 
 
 A. No, sir. I tvas going to fire until they dispersed. 
 
 Q. Did the crowd at once start to disperse as soon as you 
 fired ? 
 
 A. Immediately. 
 
 Q. Did you continue firing f 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. After the crowd indicated that it was going to disperse, 
 why did you not stop? 
 
 A. I thought it was my duty to go on until it dispersed. // 
 / fired a little, I should he ivrong in firing at all. 
 
 In reply to many questions, General Dyer admitted that he 
 continued to fire for about 10 minutes. ''He could have dispersed 
 the crowd, perhaps, even without firing." But he fired because 
 they would all have come back and laughed at him, and he would 
 have made a "fool of himself." 
 
 The General had fired 1650 rounds of ammunition, and stopped 
 shooting ivhen the ammunition had run out. 
 
 He had made no provision for aiding or removing the wounded. 
 It was not then his duty to render aid. From time to time he 
 "checked his fire and directed it upon places where the crowd 
 was thickest, and that he did, not because they were not going fast, 
 but because he (the General) had made up his mind to punish 
 them for having assembled." 
 
 According to admission by the British Government, there were 
 500 killed and 1500 wounded. It was estimated, however, by Lala 
 Girdhari Lai, a prominent citizen of Amritsar, that over 1000 
 ivere killed. An exact figure will never be known. The British 
 Army Council has exonerated and upheld R. E. H. Dyer in his 
 dastardly acts of cowardice. 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 15 
 
 Deliberate massacre of defenseless men, women and children, 
 and tragedy that followed upon the wounded, stagger the imagina- 
 tion. 
 
 This calculated act of inhumanity was much worse than the 
 Glenco Massacre in 1692, considering the time and circumstances 
 and standard. 
 
 When the massacre was finished a reign of terror followed. 
 
 AFTERMATH OF MASSACRE. 
 
 A curfew order was proclaimed to the effect that "No person 
 is permitted to leaye his house after 8 p. m. Any person found in 
 the street after 8 is liable to be shot." 
 
 - It was, therefore, impossible for the relatives of the wounded 
 to take any care of them. 
 
 Lala Girdhari Lai, who happened to watch the scene from a 
 house overlooking the Bagh, describes thus : 
 
 ''I saw hundreds of persons killed on the spot. * * Firing 
 was directed towards the gates through which the people were run- 
 ning out. * * Blood was pouring in profusion. Eve7i those who 
 lay flat on the ground shot. * ^ No arrangements were made by 
 the authorities to look after the dead or wounded, f * The dead 
 bodies were of grown-up people and children." 
 
 A HEART - RENDING STORY OF A WOMAN WHO 
 PASSED THE WHOLE NIGHT BY HER DEAD HUSBAND. 
 
 "Amidst hundreds of corpses I passed my night, crying and 
 watching, ' ' says Mrs. Ratan Devi, a widow, relating her experience 
 of the evening of massacre. "What I experienced that night is 
 known to me and to God, ' ' continued she. ' ' I was in my house near 
 Jalleanwala Bagh when I heard shots fired. I became anxious as 
 my husband had gone to the Bagh. I began to cry, and went to 
 the place, accompanied by two women to help me. There I saw 
 heaps of dead bodies, and I began to search for my husband. After 
 passing through that heap, I found the dead body of my husband. 
 
 "After short time, both the sons of Lala Sundar Das came 
 there, and I asked them to bring a charpai (stretcher) to carry the 
 dead body of my husband home. The boys accordingly went home, 
 and I sent the women also. By this time it was 8 o'clock and no 
 
16 
 
 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 
 MADAN MOHAN. 
 
 Aged 13 years; shot at Jallean- 
 wala Bagh and killed instan- 
 taneously. 
 
 GOPAL SINGH OF GUJRANWALA. 
 
 Thumb and lower jaw shattered by 
 bomb from aeroplane. 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 17 
 
 one could stir out of the house because of the curfew order. I stood 
 on waiting and crying. At about 8 :30 p. m. a Sikh gentleman came. 
 I entreated him to help me in removing my husband's body to a 
 dry place, for that place was overflowing with blood. He caught 
 the body by the head and I by the legs, and we carried th6 corpse 
 to a dry place and laid it down on a wooden block. I waited up 
 to 10 p. m., but no one arrived there. I got up and started toward 
 Ablowa Katra. I had not gone far when some man sitting in a win- 
 dow in an adjacent house asked me where I was going at that late 
 hour. I said I wanted some men to carry my husband's dead body 
 home. As it was 10 o'clock, no one would like to be shot down. 
 That was no time to stir out. 
 
 "So I went back and seated myself by the side of my dead 
 husband. Accidentally, I found a bamboo stick which I kept in my 
 hand to keep off dogs. I saw three men writhing in agony, a buffalo 
 struggling in great pain, and a boy about 12 years old, in agony, 
 entreated me not to leave the place. I asked him if he wanted any 
 wrap, and if he was feeling cold I could spread it over him. He 
 asked for water, but water could not be procured at that place. 
 
 ' ' I heard the clock striking at regular intervals of an hour. At 
 12 o'clock a Jat, of village Sultan, who was lying entangled in a 
 wall, asked me to go near him and to raise his leg. I got up, and 
 taking hold of his clothes drenched with blood, raised his leg up. 
 No one came till half past five. I passed my whole night there in 
 this way. It is impossible for me to describe what I felt. ' ' 
 
 ENGLISH OFFICIAL THREATENS REVENGE. 
 
 On the 14th, the following day, a meeting of the local residents, 
 municipal commissioners, magistrates and merchants, was called at 
 the Kotwali (police station). General Dyer at about 5 p. m. made 
 a speech, a part of w^hich runs thus : 
 
 "You people know well that I am a Sepoy and soldier. If you 
 want peace, then obey my orders and open all your shops ; else, I iviU 
 shoot. For me tlie\ battlefield of France or Amritsar is the same. 
 I am a military ma.n and I will go straight. Neither shall I move 
 to the right or to the left. * * The shops will be opened by 
 force and rifles." 
 
 Deputy Commissioner Miles Irving said, "The revenge ivill 
 he taken upon you and your children." 
 
18 
 
 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 KUNDANLAL OF GUJRAT. 
 
 Aged 10, sentenced to transporta- 
 tion for life in tlie marshy 
 islands of the Andaman in the 
 Bay of Bengal, for "waging 
 war" against King of England. 
 
 
 '^^^CWfflB^^^^^^W 
 
 / .* 
 
 A BOY AT KASUR. 
 
 Aged 11 years; sentenced for waging 
 war against King of England. 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 19 
 
 REIGN OF TERROR. 
 
 Martial law was declared on the 15th, when everything sub- 
 sided. It remained in force up to June 9, 1919. The lives of the 
 people in the Punjab were made unbearable in a variety of ways: 
 "1. The street in which Miss Sherwood was cycling during the 
 melee and was assaulted was set apart for flogging people, 
 and for making those who passed through it to crawl on 
 their stomachs. 
 ''2. All were made to salaam (salute) every Englishman, on pain 
 
 of being arrested and suffer indignities. 
 ''3. Flogging was administered publicly and otherwise, even for 
 
 trivialities. 
 ''4. All the lawyers of the town were made special constables 
 
 without cause, and made to do menial work. 
 '^5. Indiscriminate arrests were effected of persons, and during 
 detention they were subjected to humiliations, discomforts 
 and indescribable tortures for the purpose of taking confes- 
 sion or evidence, or for the purposes of merely humiliating 
 them. 
 ' ' 6. Special tribunals were formed for trying offenses, which 
 resulted in gross injustice in the name of law, leaving the 
 aggrieved parties without a right of appeal." 
 
 CRAWLING ORDER. 
 
 Crawling was ordered on the 19th in a narrow and thickly 
 populated place with buildings on either side. The full length of 
 the lane was 150 yards. Ingress and egress through the lane was 
 subject to crawling order, which remained in force for eight days. 
 The persons were 'made to lie flat on their stomachs and crawl 
 exactly like reptiles. Dyer called it ^' going on all fours." 
 
 When Lord Hunter asked him what justification there was in 
 passing an order which necessitated the inhabitants, lawfully resid- 
 ing, "to crawl on all fours" when they had to leave their houses. 
 Dyer replied, "They could leave before 6 a. m. and after 10 p. m." 
 It must be remembered that the hour of 8 p. m. was changed to 10 
 p. m., and nobody could be out after 10 p. m., and if he did, he was 
 liable to be shot. 
 
 Lala Rallya Ram, a business man, said : "While I was crawling 
 they kicked me with their boots, and also gave blows with the butt 
 ends of their rifles." 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 21 
 
 Lala Devi Das, a banker, was threatened with a bayonet when 
 he was trying to go on his hands and knees at first. He had to crawl 
 on his stomach. A blind man named Kalian Chand was made to 
 crawl and kicked. 
 
 There were about 50' persons subjected to such atrocious method 
 of crawling. 
 
 SALAAMING. 
 
 Every Indian was compelled to salaam (salute) English offi- 
 cials and Englishmen, whenever they happened to see one of them, 
 even if they heard the sound of motor car. If the salaaming was not 
 in proper manner, persons were made to squat on the damp floor, 
 and kept in custody in the Kotwali (police station), where they had 
 to pass the night, or lying in the open. And then in the following 
 day they were kept standing in the hot sun until a military sergeant 
 taught them how to salaam. Mian Foroz Din, an honorary magis- 
 trate, says that he, personally, saw many people whipped for not 
 salaaming in proper manner. 
 
 In Kasur, 40 miles from Lahore, people who failed to salaam 
 every Englishman were made to ruh their noses on the ground, if 
 they were not flogged. According to Marsden, an English official. 
 Captain Doveton did not like to go through the formalities of trial 
 and sentence. He wanted to do the things sitmmarily. 
 
 FLOGGING. 
 
 Young boys were arrested without any warrant and taken to 
 whipping post. They were fastened to the tiktiki (triangle) and 
 flogged until they became senseless. Some water was poured into 
 the mouth by a soldier. When they regained consciousness, flogging 
 was resumed. Bleeding and unconscious as they were, they could 
 not walk even a few paces. The}^ were all handcuffed and dragged 
 to the fort. 
 
 Flogging was done in public places. All the girls of Kasur were 
 ordered to witness the flogging. In failing to do so, they were 
 threatened to be shot. ''As we could not bear to watch the flogging, 
 we tried to hide our faces," said the girls, "but Captain Doveton 
 made us all look at the horrible sight and threatened us with 
 remark: 'observe carefully the result of love-making.' Every one 
 of us was ordered to look at the bleeding body." 
 
 As regards the whipping of school boys. Colonel Mackae was 
 asked by the Hunter Commission whether he gave directions that 
 
22 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 the biggest six boys were to be selected for whipping. He admitted 
 that because they were big they had to suffer these lashes. 
 
 In Kasur, with a population of 24,000, ^'40 men were sen- 
 tenced to be whipped ; the total number of stripes given was 710. ' ' 
 
 SPECIAL CONSTABLES. 
 
 All the lawyers, irrespective of age, were made special con- 
 stables, theoretically to maintain peace and order, but practically 
 to make them to do menial work, thus inflicting indignities on their 
 respectability. Lala Kanhya Lai, an aged lawyer of 75, was made 
 to work like a coolie, carrying tables and chairs from one place to 
 another, and to patrol the city in the hot sun. He says : ' ' The local 
 bar takes part in public affairs and took a prominent part in pro- 
 testing against passage of the Rowlatt bills, that is why the whole 
 bar was punished in this way." Lala Balmokand Bhatia, a high 
 court pleader and a municipal commissioner, said that they were 
 ordered to witness two citizens being flogged. They were constantly 
 reminded that they were mere constables and the punishment for 
 any neglect was not only flogging or imprisonment, hut also death. 
 It is estimated that 93 lawyers were humiliated in this manner. 
 
 WHOLESALE ARRESTS. 
 
 In a state of anarchy no one was safe. Lala Girdhari Lai 
 describes thus: 
 
 ' ' People in every sphere of life were arrested from day to day. 
 No charge was stated. We were handcuffed at once and put into 
 lockup for days and months, without being informed what we 
 were accused of; and no opportunity was ever allowed them to 
 see or consult friends or relatives. I, myself, was locked up in 
 a small room with 10 or 11 persons in it. In a corner of the room 
 was an evil-smelling chamber-pot. We were allowed neither to 
 bathe nor change clothes. The food given was unfit for human 
 consumption. Those who dared to talk to them were straightway 
 arrested. The prisoners were locked up in an iron cage about 7x2 
 and 4 feet high. The bathing arrangement was most filthy. A 
 small drain was used for all sorts of purposes." 
 
 Lala Girdhari Lai was released after detention of a month and 
 a half, without any trial and without ever knowing why he had 
 been arrested at all. 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 23 
 
 Mr. Mohammad Amin, a pleader, says: 
 
 "We were kept handcuffed in the cells in pairs, and thus led 
 even to the lavatories. We were given no food for 36 hours, and 
 were made to sleep on the bare floor. The food which we were 
 expected to take was a little heap of grain in one corner and a 
 bucket of drinking water in the other, while nearby was a tin pot 
 for passing water. We remained in the fort for 22 days. 
 
 In Hafizabad 23 persons were locked up in a single room where 
 four persons could hardly be accommodated. "We were put to 
 fearful discomforts, ' ' says Sardar Mewa Singh, ' ' not being allowed 
 even to ease ourselves when we felt the necessity. ' ' In >Sangala the 
 persons arrested had to pay Rs. 2 (90c) for each call of nature, to 
 the British officials. 
 
 A MAN OF 115 ARRESTED. 
 
 An aged man of 115, Attar Singh, who could hardly move from 
 his bed, was arrested, taken to military headquarters and confined in 
 an iron wagon. This wagon, being made of iron, was naturally 
 unbearable in the hot days of April, and in this way several other 
 villagers had to pass their days, often without food and water. 
 
 MANUFACTURE OF FALSE EVIDENCE 
 
 The way evidence w^as manufactured was shocking and appall- 
 ing. 
 
 Mr. Mohammad Amin was locked up for a month and a half 
 and finally discharged. He says, ' ' There were 30 unfortunate men 
 locked up in a small room. Once a policeman came to Gama, one of 
 the prisoners, and said : ' Why do you put your life in danger ? Name 
 four or five men with w^hom you have some enmity and we shall 
 make you a witness.' Gama said, 'I have no enemy to name.' The 
 policeman went away, but after a few moments returned and said 
 to him, 'Look here, name Qayam, and as to others what you please.' 
 We got extremely frightened at the way the police were fabricating 
 false evidence, and thought we were not safe." 
 
 AN ENGLISHWOMAN'S EVIDENCE. 
 
 Mrs. Nelley Benjamin, sub-assistant surgeon, a friend of Mrs. 
 Easdon, whom she screened from assault, says: 
 
 "When the inquiry was going on, I was taken to the Kotwali 
 (police station) on two occasions. 7 was' ashed to say that I had 
 
24 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 seen Mohammad Amin in the croivd. As I said that was not the 
 truth, Plomer, police superintendent, threatened to send me to jail. 
 I told them whatever I knew, but I refused to give false evidence. 
 They also tempted me with a reward from the government if I 
 supported the story of Mrs. Easdon regarding the presence of 
 Mohammad Amin. I refused again. " 
 
 One Seth Gul Mohammad, a merchant, was asked to give false 
 evidence. On refusing to do so, he was put to physical torture. He 
 says, "I was asked to say, 'Doctors Satyapal and Kitchlew had 
 instigated me to bring about the Hartal (general strike) on tlie 
 6th, and that they had encouraged me by saying that they would 
 use bombs to drive out the English from the country.' I refused, 
 so the police officers caught hold of my hand and placed it under 
 the leg of a cot over which eight constables sat. During the following 
 days I was beaten, slapped and caned. I was told that I would be 
 made an accused and hanged. The beating went on for eight days. ' ' 
 
 Brij Lai, a hoy of 14, was tortured to give false evidence. Lala 
 Raliaram, an aged Govt. Pensioner of 58 years, was beaten with a 
 cane and his beard was pulled, because he refused to tell what was 
 not true. "I was made to go up and down the street," he says, 
 ' ' while being pulled by the beard again and again. ' ' 
 
 The following statement made by Wazin Chand Sharma, a 
 banker of Wazaribad, throws further light on tutoring evidence. 
 "All the citizens were sent for by beat of drum to the police sta- 
 tion. Minors and criminals were considered as informers. Any- 
 body against whom the police wanted to get up a case, was brought 
 before the boys tvho )were tutored to give evidence, and thus the 
 poor men were entangled. The same boys appeared before the com- 
 mission as witnesses ; and it was on their evidence alone that the 
 people were punished. ' ' 
 
 INDESCRIBABLE METHODS OF OPPRESSION. 
 
 On refusal to name Chahga and Habib, whom the British Gov- 
 ernment picked up to be punished, "I was given," says Gholam 
 Quadir Toopgar, "most cruel beating. My turban was taken off 
 and my hands were tied with it. I was suspended to a tree for 
 about ten minutes; and was given a severe beating. I saw Peera 
 Gujar lying flat on the ground, and a military police officer pushed 
 a stick into his amis. He cried piteously all the time, but no mercy 
 was shown." 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 25 
 
 "I earnestly pray to God that no enemy of mine may have 
 to suffer in the same way (as I did) ", says Moulavi Gholam Jilani, 
 an Imam (leader at prayer) of Masjid (Mohammedan church). 
 
 Unimaginable brutalities and cruelties were being perpetrated 
 by the agents of the British Government upon Gholam Jilani. He 
 was ashed to give false evidence, and was tempted with the offer 
 that his sons would get good posts, and that he, a poor man, would 
 earn life-long honor and respect, if he would only say what they 
 wanted him to ; otherwise, he would be hanged. ' ' I would rather 
 risk my life," said he, ''than make a false statement willingly." 
 On refusal to get hy heart the statement that was written for him 
 hy the police, "they began to beat him." He says, "they beat 
 and beat me till I passed urine. They caused my trousers to be 
 put off, and beat me severely with shoes and a cane. I was asked 
 to name a few persons, but I said that I did not know any of them. 
 They beat me again, till I became senseless. After I regained con- 
 sciousness, I was taken back to the police station. There they 
 beat me severely. Not content with that, the police officer pushed 
 a stick into my anus. I fell very ill and blood came out of my mouth 
 and I felt as if the whole of my body had been cut up into pieces. 
 Fever was very high, and I was very often in delirium. I heard that 
 out of twenty days of my illness, for fifteen days I was quite 
 senseless." • 
 
 Haji Shamas-ud-din, a landed proprietor, witnessed the tor- 
 ture administered to Gholam Jilani and Khair Din. "I saw with 
 my own eyes," says he, "one of the policemen driving a wooden 
 stick into his {Jilani's) anus. Khair Din was also treated in the 
 same manner. They drove a stick into his amis also. He was in a 
 most pitiable condition. I saw his urine and excreta coming out. 
 I learned subsequently that Khair Din never recovered from his 
 injuries and died." 
 
 This reign of terror prevailed throughout the Province of the 
 Punjab. 
 
 INDISCRIMINATE SHOOTING. 
 
 Lahore, capital and largest city in the Punjab, also observed 
 complete Hartal (general closing of business) on April 6th, and 
 Hindu-Mohammedan Fraternization took place during Ram Naumi 
 Day on the 9th. On the 10th, Mr. Gandhi, leader in Satyagraha 
 movement was arrested. As soon as the news of his arrest and 
 internment spread, the people began to form processions. As the 
 unarmed crotud was marching, order to fire w^as given; several 
 lives were lost, and many wounded. The crowd returned back ; the 
 
26 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 dead and wounded remained where they were, to bear the witness 
 of militarism. 
 
 In Manianwala, on April 19, a troop train arrived. Some 
 soldiers alighted from the train and proceeded to the village shoot- 
 ing as they went. Even the women in the family way were driven 
 away from home. They have looted forcibly the stores wherever 
 they have gone. 
 
 Machine guns were used and bombs were hurled when the 
 people were running away. The Hunter Commission asked an 
 officer : 
 
 ' ' You fired machine gun into the village ; you may be thereby 
 hitting not these people whom you dispersed, but other innocent 
 people in their houses. ' ' The reply was, ' ' I could not discriminate 
 between innocent people and other people. I tried to shoot the 
 people who ran away and who I thought were coming to do dam- 
 age. " To the question, ''what was the further need of machine 
 gunning and killing them?" the prompt reply was, ''to do more 
 damage/' He further said, ''I also realized that if I tried to kill 
 people they would not gather again and do damage." 
 
 RELATIVES MADE TO SUFFER. 
 
 Relatives were punished in place of those persons whom the 
 Government intended to punish. In Nawan Find, one Ishwar 
 Singh was absent, so the British official inquired whether there 
 was any relative of his present. The officials found Kushal Singh, 
 brother-in-law of Ishwar Singh, was there. He was at once arrested. 
 
 In Chuharkana, Radha Mai, a blind man, was asked to pro- 
 duce his son, and as the son was not present, he was arrested. The 
 women were ordered to produce their husbands; otherwise, their 
 houses would be burnt and lands confiscated. 
 
 A sixty-year-old, respected Lambardar and a retired inspector 
 of police of Sheikhupura, was arrested, simply because his sons 
 were not in Sheikhupura when they were wanted. His property 
 was confiscated and his tenants were prohibited by British Govern- 
 ment from cutting the crops. 
 
 MARRIAGE PARTY PUNISHED. 
 
 An order was issued making it a crime for more than two In- 
 dians to walk abreast. A marriage party, consisting of more than 
 ten, was actually arrested. The priest and others were flogged. 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 27 
 
 ALLAH DITTA OF GUJRANWALA. 
 
 Wounded in leg by bomb from -aero- 
 plane. 
 
 SARDARl LAL. 
 
 Aged 10 years, of Gujranwala; wounded 
 in arm by bomb from aeroplane. 
 
28 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 STUDENTS TORTURED. 
 
 Because a police notice was damaged, 500 students and college 
 professors were arrested and made 'to march to the fort, miles off 
 from the college, in the hot sun, with their bedding on their shoul- 
 ders. He then issued an order that there was to be a roll call of all 
 students of various colleges, numbering 1011, four times a day; 
 the hours being 7 and 11 in the morning, and 3 and 7 :30 in the 
 evening. In order to attend this roll call the students had to ivalk 
 sixteen miles in the hot sun of Lahore for three weeks every day. 
 
 In Sangala Hill, a hoy of 7 died due to roll call in hot sun. 
 
 BOMBS THROWN ON SCHOOL. 
 
 Bombs from aeroplanes were thrown indiscriminately every- 
 where in Gujranwala, and on utterly innocent people. Bombs 
 were dropped on the Khalsa boarding house. A student, Kishan 
 Singh, describes the scene thus: 
 
 "We heard the noise of aeroplanes at about 3 p. m. They re- 
 mained hovering over the boarding house for about ten minutes. 
 Suddenly a noise was heard and a shell came down, which struck 
 our confectioner, Ganda Singh. A small piece of it injured the 
 finger of my right hand. A boy fell down on account of the 
 shock. " , 
 
 While hurling bombs, the aeroplane was at the height of 200 
 feet, so that the officer would not miss the mark. 
 
 LITTLE BOYS HUNTED AND SHOT. 
 
 In Nizamabad, a lad named Mohammad Ramzan was shot 
 to death by British soldiers while he was grazing his goats. "Two 
 or three British soldiers, then," according to Haji Allah Din, "tied 
 the dead body with his turban, dragged it and left it by the pond 
 near the village." A boy 11 years old, at Kasur, was charged 
 with waging war against King of England. In Gujrat, a boy of 10, 
 Kundan Lai has been sentenced for life" imprisonment on similar 
 charge. 
 
 ATROCITIES AND INDIGNITIES ON WOMEN. 
 
 Indignities and indecent behavior by the British toward the 
 Indian women are shocking and beyond the limits of civiliza- 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 29 
 
 tion and culture. Gurdevi, the aged widow of Mangal Jat, makes, 
 and several other women corroborate the following statement : 
 
 "One day Bosworth Smith, an English official, gathered to- 
 gether all the male persons over 8 years at the Bungalow, which is 
 some miles from our village, in connection with the investigations 
 that were going on. While the men were at the Bungalow, he rode 
 to our village, taking back with him all the w^omen, who met him 
 on the way, carrying food for their men to the Bungalow. Reach- 
 ing the village he went around the lanes and ordered all the women 
 to come out of their houses, himself forcing them out with sticks. 
 He made us all stand near the village Daira (community center). 
 The women folded their hands before him. He hea,t some luith 
 his stick; spat at them and used the f oldest and most unmentionable 
 language. He hit me twice and spat in my face. He forcibly bared 
 the faces of all women, brushed aside their veils with his own stick. 
 He called them ^She-asses, hitches, flies and sivine/ and said, 
 'you were in the same hed with your husbands, tvhy did you not 
 prevent them from going out to do mischief? Now your skirts will 
 be looked into by the police constables.' He gave me a kick also 
 and ordered us to undergo the torture of holding our ears by pass- 
 ing our arms under and around the legs while being bent double. ' ' 
 
 Further inhuman atrocities perpetrated upon women by agents 
 of the British Government are related by Miss Balochan, a daugh- 
 ter of Sadrang Nat Pairni of Amritsar, in a statement, which is 
 corroborated by Misses Eani, Panna, Rakhi : 
 
 "After my arrest without any warrant, I was sent to Kotwali 
 (police headquarters) where I was asked to give back the proper- 
 ties supposedly looted from a bank during the time of disturbances. 
 I said that I did not have any knowledge about it. I was then 
 ordered to take off my skirt. I protested. The British police 
 threatened me and my sister, Iqbalan, who was also indecently 
 treated. 
 
 "I and several other women were brought to the Kotivali 
 every day, 6 o 'clock in the morning, and were let off at 10 o 'clock 
 in the evening. During this time, they had forcibly taken of our 
 skirts, hurled fold languages upon us, flogged our naked body, 
 and dr^iven stick into our vagina." She became unconscious, and 
 did not remember what happened next. This continued for five 
 days. They were released after paying heavy fines. 
 
 The British character is clearly unveiled. Dare any One assert 
 that the British are humane ! 
 
30 BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 
 
 CASUALTIES. 
 
 As far as it has been known 1200 Indians have been massacred, 
 3600' wounded and some permanently disabled, while four English- 
 men were killed. Besides, scores of Indians have been hanged, a 
 great many sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, including 
 transportation for life. 
 
 WHERE TRIALS HELD. 
 
 Trials have been conducted by martial law commissions and the 
 summary courts. 
 
 The martial law commissions were composed of three members 
 clothed with summary jurisdiction and possessing the power to 
 inflict death sentences. The summary courts were composed of 
 one member, and they became the courts of inferior jurisdiction, 
 having power to award imprisonment up to two years and to impose 
 fines up to Rs. 1000. 
 
 They were not bound to record any evidence and their judg- 
 ments were final and unappealable to any superior court. 
 
 In this connection it also must be borne in mind how the evi- 
 dence has been manufactured by the British officials. 
 
 CONCLUSIOIM. 
 
 Such are the blood-boiling facts about the unprecedented and 
 unparalleled sufferings, torture, and atrocities the British imperial- 
 istic Government hurled upon the people of India, just four months 
 after the armistice was signed. 
 
 India heard, with buoyant hope, the message of freedom and 
 justice American people proclaimed through their spokesman, and 
 witnessed the activities of American youth, being inspired by the 
 ideals, principles, and purposes of Declaration of Independence and 
 Constitution of the United States, in making the world safe for de- 
 mocracy. India, like many other damaged nations, was expecting 
 the dawn of a new era. 
 
 But England, which has been verbose and vociferous in pro- 
 fessing championship to safeguard democracy, maintain liberty, 
 establish justice, and extend boundaries of freedom throughout the 
 world, has violated during the time of peace, every covenant of 
 International Law and every principle of war-ethics by watering 
 the soil of Hindusthan with blood of unarmed people. England has 
 shown wanton cowardice in trampling a tradition that during a 
 combat an unarmed combatant must not be attacked or injured. 
 
BRITISH TERROR IN INDIA. 31 
 
 The British Government in India since the armistice has re- 
 sorted to legislative and administrative repression, depriving India 
 of her freedom of the press, speech, and assemblage, declaring mar- 
 tial law^ in time of peace, deportation of leading men, confiscation 
 of property, suppression of newspapers, executions, public floggings, 
 imprisonment of patriotic citizens on fantastic charges, refusal of 
 permission to choose counsel for their defense, shooting by machine 
 guns, bombarding by military aeroplanes, and murdering defense- 
 less men, women, and children — a regime of blood and iron. 
 
 India is determined to be free and independent completely 
 from British Empire in order that she may, unhampered and un- 
 hindered, develop an economic system by which she may live in 
 happiness and freedom in co-operating with other nations and 
 people. 
 
 To the outside M^orld the question must at once suggest, why 
 England, a nation of forty millions, with her imperialistic system, 
 is paralyzing the process of human progress, and robbing the right, 
 liberty, and happiness of 315 millions — one-fifth of the whole human 
 race. 
 
 Deliberate, determined, cold-blooded murder and torture of 
 defenseless men, women, and children may rouse the indignation 
 and shock the fine sense of humanity, but if the world must needs 
 be made safe for peace and harmony of the people, every person in 
 the world, wherever and whatever position he or she may be, must 
 be ready to tear up this imperialistic system which has been tyran- 
 nizing and disturbing world's relationship. 
 
 Apologists for England and her institutions, and her decent 
 type of children should, if they are sincere, must organize them- 
 selves to break into pieces the hypocritic structure upon which the 
 present British political faith and system rests, and build up a new 
 foundation in accordance with new conception of life, promulgated 
 by the most progressive people of the world. 
 
THE HINDUSTAN GADAR PARTY 
 
 is an organization of those who are working 
 
 for COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE OF INDIA 
 
 Humanity can not be perfect 
 
 without the co-operation of FREE 
 
 INDIA, containing one-fifth of the 
 
 human race. 
 
 As the Nations are interdepend- 
 ent, the problem of INDIA is a 
 world-problem. 
 
 We, therefore, aim to educate 
 and enlighten the public of the 
 world about the true and exact 
 situation in India under alien and 
 autocratic regime of the British. 
 
 We wish to present before the 
 liberty-loving people THE CASE 
 OF INDIA'S COMPLETE INDE- 
 PENDENCE so that they may thor- 
 oughly understand THE SIGNIFI- 
 CANCE OF INDIA'S FIGHT FOR 
 FREEDOM. 
 
 If truth, logic, and common 
 sense are still functioning in adjust- 
 ing world's relationship, we desire 
 to prove the futility of the British 
 imperialistic system, which is men- 
 acing and disturbing world's peace 
 and prosperity of the rank and file. 
 
 Write to us, and we shall tell you 
 candidly what Freedom of India 
 means to us, to Asia, and to the 
 world. 
 
 THE HINDUSTAN GADAR PARTY 
 
 5 Wood Street 
 
 San Francisco - - - - California, U. S. A. 
 
m~^ 
 
 ■ii ■^'