Figure 1.--The Amritsar Masacre is surely the most celbrated event of the Indian independence moemnent and much like the Boston Masacre in America, the true account of what happened was rarely told. Historians now accurately recount what occurred in Boston. Unfortunately this had not occurred in Undua. And disgracefully a true account rarely appears in America and Britain. This looks to be a Japanese propaganda piece. The use of the term 'Incident' alone suugests a Japanese origin. It was part of the Japanese Asian for the Asians' campaign. Of course is was hardly an accurate depiction. The Japanese hopeed to comvert Indian POWs to join the Infian National Arny led by Subhas Chandra Bose (1943-45). It is worth mentioning that 379 Indians were killed at Armistar, the Japanese killed some 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese people (low estimate) as part of the Rape of Nanking. And these victims were not 'demonstrating'. This is what would have befallen the Indian people had the Japanese invasion of India not been stopped by the British and Indian Army. Notice that here the British are shown s using macine guns. In fact they only had bolt-action rifles. Nor are the metal-tipped sticks ('lathis') shown that the mostly male demostrators were brandishing.

The most celebrated indictment of British control of India -- what is known as the Amritsar or Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. A typical description is, "In Amritsar, India’s holy city of the Sikh religion, British and Gurkha troops massacre at least 379 unarmed demonstrators meeting at the Jallianwala Bagh, a city park. Most of those killed were Indian nationalists meeting to protest the British government’s forced conscription of Indian soldiers and the heavy war tax imposed against the Indian people." In our internet discussions weithb Indians, Amritsar is what is commonly brought up. [hstory.com] They also claim 'artillery' was used and that Indians were being 'forcibly conscripted' into the army--both blatant lies. There was no artillery and the Indian Army was the largest all-voluntary military force in history. It is true that 379 Indians were killed, but this and most descriptions of the tragic event are terribly one-sided--more woke rhetoric than actual history. It is absolutely false that that demonstrators (a questionable description) were unarmed. They did not have guns, that is accurate, but guns are not the only arms. They had metal-tipped sticks ('lathis') and the 15,000-20,000 'demonstrators' could have easily overwhelmed the small (75-strong) British detachment (mostly Gurkhas), only some of whom were armed. And rather disingenuously there is usually no effort to report what was going on on Amritsar. There were ' demonstrators' roaming the city attacking and in some cases lynching or otherwise murdering Europeans. One elderly missionary was pulled off her bike, savagely beaten, and left to die in a gutter. And the local Indian police were standing aide letting all this happen. Now it is true that Gandhi was preaching non-violence. But anyone with the slightest knowledge of Indian history knows that he was not always able to control more violent spokesmen, especially the local agitators, Dr. Kitchlew and Dr. Satya Pal. Now we understand that this woke nonsense is what is taken for history today. But then there are outright lies. First, the British did not use artillery. Second, The British were not and never did forcibly conscript Indians into the military. Some Indian potentates did, but not the British. The British Indian Army was in fact the largest all-volunteer force in history.

Massacre Charges

The most celebrated indictment of British control of India -- what is known as the Amritsar or Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. A typical description is, "In Amritsar, India’s holy city of the Sikh religion, British and Gurkha troops massacre at least 379 unarmed demonstrators meeting at the Jallianwala Bagh, a city park. Most of those killed were Indian nationalists meeting to protest the British government’s forced conscription of Indian soldiers and the heavy war tax imposed against the Indian people." 【hstory.com】 In our internet discussions with Indians, Amritsar is what is commonly brought up. 【Chatterjee】 Also claimed is that 'artillery' was used and that Indians were being 'forcibly conscripted' into the army--both blatant lies.

Actual Histiory

There was no artillery and the Indian Army was the largest all-voluntary military force in history. It is true that 379 Indians were killed, but this and most descriptions of the tragic event are terribly one-sided--more woke rhetoric than actual history. It is absolutely false that that demonstrators (a questionable description) were unarmed. They did not have guns, that is accurate, but guns are not the only arms. They had metal-tipped sticks ('lathis') and the 15,000-20,000 'demonstrators' could have easily overwhelmed the small (75-strong) British detachment (mostly Gurkhas), only some of whom were armed. And rather disingenuously there is usually no effort to report what was going on on Amritsar. There were ' demonstrators' roaming the city attacking and in some cases lynching or otherwise murdering Europeans. One elderly missionary was pulled off her bike, savagely beaten, and left to die in a gutter. And the local Indian police were standing aide letting all this happen. Now it is true that Gandhi was preaching non-violence. But anyone with the slightest knowledge of Indian history knows that he was not always able to control more violent spokesmen, especially the local agitators, Dr. Kitchlew and Dr. Satya Pal. 【Roberts, pp. 148-153.】 Now we understand that this woke nonsense is what is taken for history today. But then there are outright lies. First, the British did not use artillery. Second, The British were not and never did forcibly conscript Indians into the military. Some Indian potentates did, but not the British. The British Indian Army was in fact the largest all-volunteer force in history.

Partition Disaster (1947)

Important to note is how the violence sweeping northwest India died down after Jaliwanwala Bagh. Compare this with the failure of the Indian Government to use force when violence swept Northwest India as a result of partition (1947). No one knows the resulting death count, but it may have approached 2 million perhaps even 3 million people. 【Hill et.al.】

Golden Temple Massacre (1984)

Actually there are two Amritsar Massacres. And it is not the British one that was the bloodiest. Early in the morning of June 6, Indin Army troops launched a major attack on the long besieged Golden Temple compound in Amritsar. This was the holiest shrine of Sikhism. It was the horific climax to 2 years of fighting between the Indian government and Sikh separatists. The Indian Army stormed the Golden Temple and killed over 500 Sikh rebels. More than 100 Indian soldiers and scores of nonbelligerent Sikhs were also killedn in the fierce gun and artillery battle. (The actual count is unknownm, but may be in the thousands.) Among the dead were a large number of pilgrims who were there for a major Sikh festival. It is unckear why the Indian commanders chose a time to attack when so many non-beligerants were present. In additon, the Indian Army attacked Sikh resisters in some 40 other temples and religious shrines throughout Punjab. Indian officials subsequently hailed the operation as a success and said it 'broke the back' of the 'Sikh terrorist' movement.

Sources

"British and Gurkha troops massacre hundreds of unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar Massacre," history.com (March 3, 2010).

Chatterjee, Aritra. Internet exchange (December 17, 2023). This is ione example of such exchganges.

Hill, K., W. Selzer, J. Leaning, S. Malik, and S. Russell. "The demographic impact of partition in Punjab in 1947," Population Studies Vol. 62 No. 2, (2008), pp. 155–70.]

Roberts, Andrew. A History of the English Speaking People Since 1900 (Harper Collins: New York, 2007), 736p.

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Created: 1:16 AM 12/18/2021
Last updated: 11:39 PM 12/17/2023