During the Great War, India supplied men and resources to the war effort. Millions of Indian soldiers had fought in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East with the whole Raj sending supplies of food, money, and ammunition. Despite this, there were Indian nationalists determined to end British rule in India. Throughout the war, there were several plots to start an uprising supported by the Central Powers. None of them came to fruition however, as the British authorities quickly acted on these threats and arrested the ringleaders.
With the war over, the Indian nationalists felt the empire was finally weakened. Activists in Bengal and Punjab went to work, sparking revolutionary activity to the point where the regional administrations were nearly paralyzed. This became significant to the point where the British government refused to pass the Government of India bill in late 1919. To the British administrators, this was a foolish mistake that would soon prove them right.
A Place of No Return
On April 13, 1919, the subcontinent’s destiny would change forever. In Amritsar, a traditional festival was going on where people gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh square to celebrate. Among the crowd were simple men, women, and children going about their day. During the festivities, a few nationalists were making speeches on soapboxes. In the previous months, an order had been issued banning large meetings in the open.
When General Reginald Dyer heard of this, he immediately sprang into action. He went to the location with a force of Gurkha and Sikh troops along with an armored car (though he couldn’t get the car through the narrow entrance). Once the troops had lined up, he ordered them to aim their rifles on the crowd. When a younger officer asked if they should give a short warning, Dyer simply replied “They had their warning, no meetings.”.
Shortly after that, the General ordered the men to open fire. For ten bloody minutes, the troops fired on the thickest part of the crowd. When the shooting was directed at the center, people ran to the sides. When they ran to the sides, the firing was then directed to the sides. Many people threw themselves to the ground, but it was futile as the firing was then directed to the ground. The firing continued until their ammunition was nearly exhausted. When the dust cleared, 379 people lay dead on the field.
A painting of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
When news of the massacre spread, many moderate Indians abandoned any loyalty they had to the Raj and became members of the independence movement. Even many Brits were horrified at the massacre except those who saw Dyer as a hero for restoring law and order in Punjab.
To prove his point further, Dyer decided to teach the Indians a harsh lesson. On a street where an Englishwoman had recently been attacked, the general ordered those wishing to cross that particular street must crawl on their belly. Anyone who defied this order was tied to a pole and whipped.
An Indian crawling in the lane in front of British soldiers, 1919
Enough is Enough
Over the next few years, anger by Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims reach a boiling point. The violence continued with troops opening fire on the protestors. In Dhaka, 1922, a mutiny breaks out among the troops after refusing to fire on civilians, engulfing the whole of Bengal. The same thing happens in Punjab province where rebellious soldiers raided the armory and handed out guns to those who volunteered. Across northern India, British troops are attacked and European civilians murdered as the authorities lose control over whole areas.
During this chaos, 2 leaders rose to lead the struggle. Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose. Together, they joined forces and captured more areas from the British until the whole of northern India was theirs. Both men were members of the Indian National Congress, the main political party in India.
Fearing a collapse of their jewel in the crown, the British request their Dominions to send troops to India. They all answered the call as the Dominions send men and equipment to India. The Empire was determined to maintain control over India while the rebels were equally determined to free the sub-continent. In 1924, the continent’s fate would be decided in a small valley somewhere in the Central Provinces.
The Indian Revolution, 1924