Merciless Massacre at Jallianwala Bagh

 

The Flame of Liberty

Every year, either on 13th or on 14th April, Baisakhi is celebrated by Sikh community with great fanfare. It is the event of spring harvesting in Punjab, a state in northern India. It is also the establishment of Khalsa (meaning pure) order by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru (spiritual leader) of Sikhism, on 13 Apr 1699. 

Issued on 17 January 1967 (Source: Internet)

India Post has issued a commemorative postage stamp on 300th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh on 17 January 1967.

Baisakhi is a colorful festival, when Sikh population comes out with procession wearing new dresses. They pray at Gurdwaras, the holy place of Sikh worship, men join for bhangra dance and demonstrate the skills of Gatka, the Sikh martial arts. 

Renovation work in progress

In the year 1919, on 13 April, the Baisakhi day, a large number of people gathered at a place called Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab of British ruled India to celebrate Baisakhi. The Rowlatt Act, a suppressive act, to enforce against revolutionaries, was passed in Feb 1919. By applying the said act, British government arrested Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal. People converged also to protest against the infamous Rowlatt Act and against the arrest of Kitchlew and Satyapal. 

Source: Internet

One commemorative postage stamp on Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew (15 January 1888 – 09 October 1963), an Indian independence activist and politician was issued by India Post on 13 April 1989. 

Indians from all communities viz. Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims were there. Since it was a festival time, the place was packed with men, women, elders and children. The bagh or garden was located in the heart of the city of Amritsar. It was a sort of enclosed area, surrounded by dwelling units from all four sides. 

The dead end

There were very narrow five passages for entry and exit. So, by any chance, if the lanes get chocked, none can enter or exit.

One of the narrow passages

British rulers came to know about the gathering and they send Brigadier General R. E. H. Dyer to the scene. Even though there were large gathering, people were not having any arms or ammunition and the situation was peaceful. As per Hunter Commission (established later), it was estimated a crowd of 10,000 - 20,000 people.

On arriving the site, with forces (about 50 soldiers) of British Indian Army, constituted of members from Gurkha, Baloch, Rajput, Sikh soldiers from 2-9th Gurkhas, 54th Sikh and 59th Scinde Rifles, Dyer assessed the situation. The first thing he did was he blocked all the narrow entry-cum-exit lanes of the bagh. He positioned army personnel on ground at all gates. He had also brought two armored vehicle which could not enter through the narrow lanes. So, they were positioned outside, behind the forces, to kill anyone, in case of escape. That ensured that none could escape as the site was surrounded from all directions by buildings. After positioning his forces at the corridors, without giving any warning, he ordered his force to start firing. People neither had option to fight back (they were unarmed) nor to flight (running away). There was a ghastly scene of armed army mercilessly killing innocent people. People started running helter-skelter only to realize that there was no escape or survival from the incessant rain of bullets. 

A few historical facts

Dyer told his soldiers to focus and target wherever there was cluster of people so that maximum number of Indians could be killed. 

Martyrs' Well

There was a well inside (which is still there even today) in bagh. To save their lives, from getting hit by bullets, people jumped one after another, in the well. Alas, they could not avoid death as dead bodies piled up, one above another, inside the well. Afterwards, 120 dead bodies were fished out from the well. It is now called Martyrs’ Well. 

The well

The sketch of the well, from one photograph, was used to design the First Day Cover.

The original picture (Source: National Philatelic Museum, Delhi, India)

The First Day Cover with the Well (Source: Internet)

Meanwhile, Dyer continued firing through forces and stopped only when they almost ran out of ammunition. Afterwards, he withdrew his army, leaving behind a killing field where dead and injured were left in a pool of blood. According to estimation, about 1500+ people lost their lives and 1200+ were injured in the ghastly incident. Hunter commission report had confirmed death of 41 boys and a baby of six week, among others. In entire world, there is no other similar example of such brutality and inhuman act.

It was considered as pre-curser of rising by Indians against British rule. British rulers in India, tried to suppress the information of human massacre of Amritsar but it spread across India like wildfire. There was strong protest by Indians, from all walks of life - common men, politicians, intellectuals etc. Noble laureate Rabindranath Tagore, in protest, in his letter dated 31 May 1919 to Lord Chelmsford, Viceroy of India, renounced his Knighthood, which was conferred to him in 1915. Mahatma Gandhi, in 1920, returned Kaisar-i-Hind medal which was awarded to him in 1915 because of his voluntary ambulance work during Boer War in South Africa. 

On 14 October 1919, a commission titled ‘The Disorder Inquiry Committee’ was formed under the chairmanship of William, Lord Hunter to inquire about the incident. The following were members of the commission, which later came to known as Hunter Commission:

1. Lord William Hunter, ex- Solicitor-General - Chairman

2. W.F. Rice, Additional Secretary to the Government of India (Home Department)

3. Justice G.C. Rankin, Judge of the High Court, Calcutta

4. Major General Sir George Barrow, Commandant of the Peshawar Division

5. Sir Chimanlal Setalvad

6. Pandit Jagat Narayan

7. Sardar Sultan Ahmed Khan

The commission took testimony over a period of one and half month, including General Dyer who appeared before the commission on 19th November 1919. The final report condemned the heartless action of Dyer and declared him guilty of a mistaken notion of duty. 

".....continuing firing as long as he did, it appears to us that General Dyer committed a grave error."

Hunter Commission held him responsible as ‘Dyer had overstepped the bounds of his authority’. He was removed from his duty (by imposing premature retirement) and was prohibited from any engagement in future in India. In last a few years of life, Dyer - the butcher of Amritsar, suffered a series of strokes and was rendered speechless and paralytic. He passed away on 23 July 1927. 

A quote from his deathbed -

‘So many people who knew the condition of Amritsar say I did right...but so many others say I did wrong. I only want to die and know from my Maker whether I did right or wrong.’

His action was termed as ‘correct’ by Michael O’Dwyer, the then Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab (1913-1919). Because of his active support to Dyer, he was on the crosshair of Indian revolutionaries. A Sikh teenager who was a witness of the cruel act, was raised by Khalsa Orphanage. His name was Udham Singh. To take revenge, Sardar Udam Singh, the Indian brave-heart freedom fighter assassinated Dwyer in the city of London on 13 March 1940. He was immediately caught and later was hanged on 31 July 1940 at Pentonville Prison. On 31 July 1992, India Post issued one postage stamp on Sardar Udham Singh. The stamp was designed by renowned artist Shankha Samanta.

Source: Internet

Today, the Jallianwala Bagh has been developed as a park and has turned into a ‘holy’ place to visit by every Indian. To commemorate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp on 13 April 1969 (50th anniversary). 

First stamp on the theme

Let us have a look how this stamp was designed, approved and released. 

Several black and white photographs from the archive were gathered for design purpose.

Assorted photographs (Courtesy: National Philatelic Museum, Delhi, India)

Based of the photos and creativity, total nine (A-I) designs were proposed. 

Total nine prototypes proposed (Courtesy: National Philatelic Museum, Delhi, India)

Approved design no. B (Courtesy: National Philatelic Museum)

The finally approved design (Courtesy: National Philatelic Museum, Delhi, India)

Then came colour selection.

The original approved colour faded (Courtesy: National Philatelic Museum, Delhi, India)

The whole story in a nutshell at the National Philatelic Museum.

A single frame (Display at National Philatelic Museum)

The museum at Delhi, India

In order to pay tribute to martyrs, on 75th anniversary of Jallianwala massacre, another stamp was issued on 13 April 1994.

Second stamp on the theme

On 13 April 2019, history clocked a century of Jallianwala massacre or Amritsar massacre. India Post issued a set of two stamps and one mini sheet on that day. 

Third in the series (one of two stamps)

Second stamp in the third emission (another of two stamps)

The mini sheet with both stamps

The same year (2019) Britain expressed ‘deep regret’, but the people responsible for unfortunate incident never apologised. 

At an Indian National Congress session held in December 1919 in Amritsar, Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust was conceptualised under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. For procurement of the land, money was raised from people through voluntary contributions. The land of the bagh, measuring about 6.27 acres in area was purchased from 37 private owners who were mostly kith and kin of Sardar Himmat Singh, a noble in the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. A total amount of INR 5,60,472 was paid on 01 August 1920 and the registration process of the land in the name of trust was done on 20 September 1920.

A few words from the secretary

Sasthi Charan Mukherji, an active Congress party leader had shifted from Bengal to Amritsar in the year 1910. It is said that on the unfortunate day he was present at the bagh but somehow was saved. He was appointed as first secretary of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust. Dr. Saifuddin Kichlu and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad were given lifelong trusteeship. His son Uttam Charan Mukherji became secretary of the trust, after his death. Today he is carrying the responsibility forward. The Mukherjee family, caretaker for three successive generations, is presently residing in a house, inside the bagh premises.

With the memorial trust put on place, came the idea of a suitable monument. Once invitation was floated for a design for a suitable monument, thousands of responses were received. One of them was a design jointly submitted by Benjamin Polk and T R Mehendru which was approved. Benjamin Polk was an American architect who was influenced by the ‘Sikhara’ (spire) of Jain temples of Girnar and Palitana of Gujarat. Presently, Palitana is city located in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. It is the only mountain of the world which has more than 900 temples. In 2014, Palitana was declared as purely vegetarian city, first in the world.

The monument

The monument was named as ‘Flame of Liberty’. Keeping in mind of bloodshed in the area, it was decided to be made it red coloured stone. For its construction, famous red stone was brought from Dholpur of Rajasthan. Matching with its colour, red granite stone was sourced from Mysuru, Karnataka. The construction work was taken up after independence. It was built at a cost of INR 9,25,000/-.  

Acknowledgement: thestatesman.com

It is 30 feet tall pylon rising from a shallow tank shaped base. 

Ashok Chakra

National emblem – Ashoka Chakra has been inscribed at the base on four sides. ‘In memory of martyrs, 13 April 1919’ has also been inscribed on the red stone on all sides (in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English languages) of the structure. On 13 April 1961, this was dedicated to the nation by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of independent India in presence of Jawaharlal Nehru, first Premier of independent India. 

A sculpture outside

Amar Jyoti (Eternal flame) has been installed there which burns round the clock. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., a Fortune 500 listed public sector enterprise provides LPG cylinders for keeping the flame alive. The consumption is on average one cylinder per week. 

People on 'pilgrimage' (another sealed end)

No entry fee is levied and the bagh remains open for patriotic pilgrimage from 6 am to 9 pm in summer and 7 am to 8 pm in winter.

Bullet points

Bullet marks on the high walls have been preserved.

Bullet marks on the wall

Those marks are encircled with white paint and been serially numbered. 

Locations of bullet marks

It can often be seen that doves of peace are resting above the holes in the wall, left behind by the impregnated bullets of British rulers. 

Bullet marks and a dove of peace

Peace prevails.

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Webliography:

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/putting-back-the-national-in-the-jallianwala-bagh-trust/article30090241.ece

Disclaimer:

The noble objective of this blog, is to promote the hobby of philately through images of stamps, a few pictures and related narration. Some of the scans and pictures featured in this blogpost are mine while others (sourced from internet) are the properties of their respective owners. No intention to infringe any type of copyright. 

The information provided in the article is for general informational purposes only. All information is provided in good faith. This is only for sharing of knowledge of philately with philatelist fraternity of the world. No commercial or political angle, whatsoever, is involved. This is not a historical document. Apologies in advance, should there be any inadvertent mistake or error. Under no circumstances, I shall have any liability for reliance on any information provided in the story.

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The article was published in April 2023 issue of popular philatelic e-magazine Ananthapuri Stamp Bulletin. Select pages are given here:

The cover page

The index page

Page 1 of 4

Page 2 of 4

Page 3 of 4

Page 4 of 4