Jallianwala Bagh and the Writing of History; Kim Wagner's An Empire of Fear and the Making of the Amritsar Massacre

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Jalianwalla Bagh: An Empire of Fear and the Making of The Amritsar Massacre
Kim  A. Wagner
Penguin India, 2019

Jalianwalla Bagh

Kim Wagner is a well known English Historian with books on the Nineteenth Century such as the study of Thugee and later the violence of the Indian Mutiny as evidence from the macabre evidence of the skull of Alum Beg. Now he has turned his attention to the Jalianwalla Bagh Massacre of 1919 and has published this book in time to trigger the political and academic interest in this singular event of the early twentieth century. He is a careful historian, unlike the Indian "historians" who are quite content reproducing large chunks of the Hunter Report and thickly marinate their so called hypotheses with nationalistic bombast of the Nehruvian variety. He has scrupulously adhered to the basic premise of good historiography by not letting post colonial sentiments of moral outrage and loud lamentations over the Evil of Empire overpower his narrative. The Massacre cannot be reduced to a label of identity and hence has to be treated as a "historical event" that needs to be reconstructed. And that Kim Wagner has done is a commendable manner. He has consulted all available records in the British and Indian Archives and the result is a tour de force of historical narrative, reconstruction and interpretation of the event. To most Indian Historians, the 1919 Massacre is an example of the brutality of the British Raj and indeed it was. That in itself does not explain the 1919 Amritsar Massacre. All Empires are brutal and the British one was not an exception. Even the First Award Wapsi of India, Rabindranath Tagore in his letter renouncing his Knighthood spoke only of the extreme cruelty of the Massacre. General Dyer was like Adolf Eichmann who was evil in a banal and incoherent fashion. Jalianwalla Bagh Massacre is a an event that reminds us that Evil lurks in every corner and is not the monopoly of one individual or institution.

Kim Wagner has drawn a very detailed picture of the Punjab right from the suppression of the Kuka Uprising/Rebellion of 1872. The uprising was suppressed with extrmeme violence as nearly a 100 men who were merely accused of participating in the Uprising were blown from the mouth of cannons. Without even consulting his superiors Commissioner Cowan executed the rebels in the most horrendous manner. Wagner explains the unnecessary cruelty in terms of the memory of Kanpur during the Mutiny of 1857. The Kuka Rebellion remains an enigma in Indian Historiography as the 68 rebels killed by Cowan whose names are known have not been recognized as Martyrs till this day. The SGPC has been clamoring for recognition till this day. The recent exchange of words between the Vice President of the Akali Dal , Mahjitia and the Congress Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amrinder Singh, the grand son of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Karpurtala underscores the fact that these events have an afterlife until this day.

There are certain events that Professor Wagner has excavated which seems to "normalize" the brutality of General Dyer. The Rowlatt Act was unpopular in the Punjab and both Dr Kitchlew and Dr Satyapal were leading agitations against it and were ably assisted by Hans Raj. Wagner makes a rather unkind statement about Hans Raj on page 51 casting serious aspersions on a man India regards a patriot.  Whatever be the antecedents of Hans Raj he was a good organizer and was instrumental in arranging the meeting on the fateful day at Amritsar. On 10th 11th and 12th of April there were a series of riots all over the city of Amritsar in which more than 20 Englishmen and women were killed and a Bank looted the manger brutally killed and set on fire. Wagner seems to believe that the context of the Massacre was set by these unfortunate events that brought back memories of 1857. By invoking the Memory of 1857, it seems to me that Wagner is not just trying to explain the event but also justify it. April 13 1919 happened to be the day of Baikashi, an important day in the social calendar of Punjab. Martial Law had been imposed after the British troops failed to contain the rioters on the Bridge leading to the centre of the City. And General Dyer went all arounf the City on the morning of April 13 proclaiming that Martial Law has been declared. Hans Raj and his companions went around stirring up a crowd for a meeting in Jalianwala Bagh which was to be addressed by Kanniyalal, a well known local leader, in the absence of Satyapal and Kitchlew. The question is: Does the fact that Dyer had issued the warning to the residents of Amritsar mitigate the enormity of the tragedy. The answer clearly is "NO".

The firing started at around 4 PM and continued for about 10 minute in which 1650 rounds were fired from 303 Enfield Rifles. The events at Sultanwind Gate of the previous day were still fresh in the minds of the people of Amritsar. The Gurkha Regiment and one more provided soldiers for Dyer's contingent that marched to Jalianwala Bagh even as a peaceful meeting was going on. Without warning, Dyer ordered his men to shoot at the crowd and justified his action before the Hunter Commission by saying that he had already warned the City, a reference to his proclamation earlier in the day. He was aware of the enormity of his actions and even the Lt Governor Michael O' Dwyer was at first reluctant to back Dyer that the shooting was necessary. Udham Singh killed O'Dwyer 20 years later in London.

The Amritsar Massacre led to the establishment of the Hunter Commission and after a detailed Inquiry held General Dyer guilty of over reaction and he was forced to resign. The Time ran a Fund for him which resulted in more than 26,000 pounds being contributed. The evil of his deed cannot be written off with a mere apology and India should not forgive the Jalianwala Bagh Crime.

The Electoral Prospects of the BJP

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The time has come to look back at the campaigns ans see where the Nation is heading towards in the forthcoming General Elections. The campaign  of the Congress centering around the dynastic mascot, Rahgul Gandhi, is surprisingly sharp and focused. The Assured Income scheme launched in the Manifesto is both innovative and attractive. By guaranteeing a minimum income of 72, 000 per family for a year as income support the Congress has created some ripples. Given the state of public journalism in India, the scheme has not attracted the kind of attention it deserves. The BJP brushed this scheme aside. However, the tax burden on the middle class will increase dramatically if this scheme is introduced and it will add to the inflationary woes. For the past 5 years India has seen 8% growth with around 3.5% Inflation. If the Congress comes to power Inflation will sky rocket and growth will plummet. What needs to be done is to work out the benefits already rolled out by the Modi Government to the people and make a comparative assessment.

Except for the one innovative policy measure, the dynastic fascists have run a highly divisive vituperative invective laden campaign. Modi was attacked in every possible manner. His Mother, Family, his personality were all viciously attacked to little effect. The more he was attacked the greater the popularity. Rahul even went to the extent of saying "Chowkidar Chor hai". The watchman is a thief, an attempted rebuke that was transformed into a splendid statement of approbation with people from all walks of life adding the word Cowkidar to their names. In the last General Elections Mani Shankar Ayer's jibe directed against Modi turned out to be a vote getter and this time if Modi is now set to trounce the Congress, the credit should go to Rahul and his meanly mouth jibe.

There is not a single allegation oc corruption against Modi. He has led, for the first time since Independent India, a Government that does not face a single charge. The Scams and Scandals of the Congress and its Allies have been the subject of numerous Inquires but given the state of the judiciary here in India, the prosecution has been tardy. Further, sections of the Judiciary seem to be playing footsie with the Congress as Chidambaram and his son havc secured bail 18 times already over the slew of cases they face. The entire Gandhi family is out on Bail facing serious fraud charges in the National Herald case. This case is one in which the entire property of the National Herald, a Congress Newspaper, was acquired by the first family of the Congress contrary to the rules and law presently in place.The eviction has been stayed by the Supreme Court. Yet another instance of the judiciary playing footsie with the Congress. The Higher Judiciary seems to be a partner in the UPA and it is fast losing the respect of the Nation

In spite of all these, the Congress and its allies are headed for a decisive defeat. Kamalnath, the Chief Minister of Madhya  Pradesh was caught in the Augusta Westland Scandal as some of the money got as kickbacks was recovered from his aides. The Pulwama Attack was sought to be politicized by Rahul and his associates. They wanted proof of the Attack implying that the Government was lying about the Balakot Air Strike. For the first time the Armed Forces became a factorin domestic political squabbles. And the Congress sought in vain to  turn the needle of suspicion on Modi and failed.

The North East will see a resurgent BJP and in Mamta's  Bengal the BJP has made significant inroads. Orissa will see a BJP victory in around 8 constituencies with a hung assembly and in nearby Andhra Pradesh the Jagan Mohan Reddy outfir is set to weep and BJP may win just 2 seats in AP. Tamil Nadu is always a difficult state to study as people show very erratic voting behaviour. BJP may win the Kanya Kumari seat, the Coimbatore seat and has a fighting chance in Ramanathapuram. We know that Kartok Chidambaram and Tirumavalavan will not taste electoral success.

At an all India level it would be safe to predict that Narendra Modi will form the next Government with the NDA getting around 315 seats.

The Festival of Democracy in India: Pranoy Roy and Navin Chawla

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India is the world's largest Democracy and in spite of the antics of political parties like the Congress,, DMK, the Communist factions and identity based political groups like the Akali and the Muslim League. And that is not a mean achievement in itself. Navin Chawla, the well known biographer of Mother Theresa, has said in as many words that the Election Commission of India is the real pillar of Indian democracy. He may not be off the mark as the Election Commission is universally feared by political parties across the political spectrum. Its ability to enforce a modicum of discipline in the conduct of elections shows that what it lacks by means of man power it makes up with robust moral authority by establishing its absolute independence from the Executive. The book Every Vote Counts: The Story of India's Elections is a racy highly readable gallop across all General Elections starting from 1952. He documents in rich details the trials and tribulations faced by the Election Commission in the early years under Sukumar Sen. The Election Commission has insisted on a set of practices in order to make the election process free and fair and the Model Code of Conduct in one such measure. There has been frequent allegations that the EVMs ( Electronic Voting Machines) are susceptible to hacking. This is an absurd allegation and given the fact that our political parties are filled with semi  literates such baseless allegations keep gaining traction come every election season. A stand alone machine manufactured to the specifications of the ECI by Bharath Electronic Corporation cannot be hacked as they are not connected to the internet and they are not compatible with blue tooth technology.

The Verdict: Decoding India's Election by the well known election analysts, Dr Pranoy Roy and Darob Sopariwala is a good introduction to the delicate business of election forecasting. They have done a commendable job of looking at the aggregate data relating to General Elections. Does Incumbency provide an advantage to the sitting MP. Do voters vote for political parties or on the basis of their perception of the merit of the candidates contesting. Do political parties decide on candidates on the basis of the winnability or other factors. Does party and its ideology play a major role in determining the outcome. What is the SWING factor and how can it be measured. How do votes get translated into seats. What are the major advantages and disadvantages of the first past the winning post system that we have. A major disappointment in the book is that it does not address the important issue of proportional representation. How does turn out on election day help or hinder the outcome. All these issues are discussed in great detail with a plethora of facts, tables and analyses.

Both these books must be read by everyone interested in Indian politics, particularly the Election process. Navin Chawla raised a very important point in his book and that needs to be further researched. There is no reference to political parties in the Constitution of India. In legal terms a political party has the status of an unincorporated Association. What kind of  democracy was envisaged by the founders and if we remember that Gandhi wanted the Congress to be dissolved, it is certain that the founders had a partyless democracy in mind. We have move a long way from that ideal.

Both these books are worth a read. Lucidly written and with a faint touch of humour I commend these writers for their worthwhile contributions.