E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi – His Life & Timesforsook his leadership because he did not immediately announce a clever newplan to divert attention from the one that failed.Meanwhile, the Punjab province boiled. Events there culminated in theoccurrence in the sacred Sikh city of Amritsar on April 13, 1919, which SirValentine Chirol called 'that black day in the annals of British India'. For Gandhiit was a turning point. Indians never forgot it.An official commission of inquiry, appointed by the government of India andconsisting of seven members, four British and three Indian, with Lord Hunter,Senator of the College of Justice of Scotland, as chairman, investigated thePunjab disturbances for many months and then published its report. It foundthat in Amritsar 'the Hartal on the thirtieth (of March) was successful beyondexpectation and stopped the whole business of the city. There was no collisionwith the police and no resort to violence.' On April 6, Amritsar, a city of150,000 inhabitants, observed another hartal. This second time also the hartalpassed off successfully', the official Hunter Report affirms, 'and Europeanscould and did walk unmolested amongst the crowds.'On April 9, the Punjab government issued an order for the deportation from theprovince of the two Congress party leaders, Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, a Moslemand Dr. Satyapal, a Hindu. It was the day of the Hindu festival Ram Naumi inwhich, according to the Report, Moslems also joined, shouting 'Mahatma Gandhiki jai (Long Live Mahatma Gandhi)' and 'Hindu-Mussalman ki jai (Long LiveHindu- Moslem unity)', and 'drinking out of the same cups publicly by way ofdemonstration'. The police expected that the demonstrators would try toliberate the two leaders and precautions were taken, but 'there was no attemptat rescue'.The banishing of the leaders removed from Amritsar the two men who mighthave restrained the populace. 'Starting in anger at the action of thegovernment in deporting the two local politicians,' reads the Hunter Report, amob raged through the streets. At the National Bank, Mr. Stewart, themanager, and Mr. Scott, the assistant manager, were beaten to death and atthe Alliance Bank, Mr. G. M. Thomson, the manager, 'who attempted to defendwww.mkgandhi.org Page 204