Punjab under Seige: the horrific events of 1919

Sahaj Kaur
Nov 3 · 6 min read
The illustration is taken from ‘Frank Brazil’ (music video by Ska Vengers) which was shown at the exhibition.

Over the summer I went to a hugely emotive exhibition held at Manchester Museum: Punjab under Seige. It was about The Jallianwala Bagh massacre during British rule in India. It has affected me very deeply and challenged me to confront the conflicting parts of my identity. Whilst it was important for me to reconnect with this part of my past and identity; it’s even more important to tell these ignored stories of pain and intergenerational trauma as it shares and lightens the burden from marginalised communities and goes some way to educating white Britain about its own horrific past.

In the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, General Reginald Dyer ordered the British Indian forces to open fire into a crowd of peaceful protestors (opposing British rule) in a park where there was only one exit (which was being blocked by the troops).

Clip from ‘Frank Brazil’ by Ska Vengers showing the massacre.

This massacre (as well as the horrific Amritsar massacre of 1984 and the state-issued violence against Sikhs that continued following the massacre) was something I’d first (and only) heard of through stories passed down from my mum from her own mum. I felt very removed from it all and the emotional burden of the pain of all these people I felt part of was too much to bear and I often pushed it away. I didn’t want to identify with it, I didn’t want to think about it, it hurt too much to carry the pain of all those that aren’t here anymore so that I can be. Survivor’s guilt for generations past. So I didn’t and felt resentful that I was part of an oppressed community and had to bear this weight when those who aren’t, get to be individuals, free of this heavy load.

The exhibition included many stories from survivors (often children of those who were killed) and their lived experience.

So I pushed it away, until I saw that the museum in Manchester was doing a collaborative exhibition with the Partition museum (in Punjab) about this very massacre! This was the first time this massacre had come up for me in any academic sense. I had never been taught about it at school (or anything negative about the empire at all really). I spoke to my sister (14) and she gave a frankly horrible account of her encounter with it at school. She had been taught about the massacre in history but in the most insensitive way possible. Instead of approaching the topic through the experiences of the victims and with empathy towards my sister, the teacher instead decided to ask questions of the class like ‘Was it stupid to for these people to jump in the well to commit suicide rather than be shot?’. I was amazed that this was remotely deemed to be appropriate even without considering how much of an emotive topic it could be for my sister. So I approached the exhibition with apprehension.

Some people chose to jump into a well at the park, rather than be killed by the troops. On the right shows the ‘The Martyr’s well’ in Jallianwala Bagh, Amristar. This well is preserved and open to visit to commemorate those who lost their lives.

I was scared to go about all the emotions I would go through but actually, it was done very tastefully, with consideration of survivors and was a very positive educational experience. Here’s some of what I learnt:

Taken from a clip shown at the exhibition: a survivor talking about why his grandfather went to protest at Jallianwala Bagh.

The massacre came on the backdrop of a Punjab in unrest, the British unable to retain control. In an effort to curtail this unrest, the Rowlatt Act was passed: this allowed stricter control of the press, arrests without warrants, indefinite detention without trial. Revolt seemed imminent with numerous protests and clashes between citizens and military forces due to the government arrest of leaders of the Indian Independence Movement. Among this unrest, a British teacher was assaulted by a mob in a narrow street and left for dead, she was later rescued by local Indians (one of them was the father of one of her pupils). Dyer then issued that every man that lived in that street should crawl it’s length on his hands and knees (later explaining that he wanted them to crawl on all fours like they do for their Gods because he wanted them to see a British woman to be equal to one). This also came with public whippings. Punjab was now under martial law with civil liberties such as freedom of assembly restricted. So on the day of 13 April 1919, on the day of Vaisakhi (a religious holiday for Sikhs and Hindus), many people came to this infamous park to celebrate, enjoy the gardens and some to protest the arrest of the leaders, restriction of civil liberties and the general actions of the British in India.

One of the saddest things of this imagery to me is Indians killing Indians under the command of their white colonial rulers.

Dyer arrived with military forces and blocked the exits without warning the crowds to disperse. He then ordered the troops to open fire, with a cease fire only being issued once ammunition as ran out, approximately 10 minutes later.

The original walls are preserved with bullet holes marked.

This event was pivotal in the British’s hold on India. It caused even moderate Indians to become nationalist and abandon any trust in the British.

Shown at the Exhibition alongside narrated transcripts of the enquiry.

The enquiry into this massacre was quite telling, Dyer defended his actions saying his motives were not to disperse the crowd but to incite fear. If he simply let them leave ‘they would laugh at him’. The focus of the enquiry or Dyer’s condemnation was not his gross disregard for human/Indian lives but rather the consequences of such an act and what it would mean for the British Empire.

The exhibition included a music video by Ska Vengers (the artwork from which was a central theme) about Udham Singh. He (like many others) was radicalised from the actions of the British in Punjab. He travelled to the UK and assassinated Michael O’Dwyer (who had endorsed and justified this massacre).

There was also amazing artwork by the Singh Twins displayed at the entry to Manchester Museum, depicting the ‘before, during and after’ of the massacre.

‘Jallianwala:Repression and Retribution‘ by The Singh Twins.
Jallianwala Bagh today, a popular spot for people to picnic but also to come and remember those who are no longer here.

This story was being told by people of colour on the literal soil of the oppressors who did it. That is huge, especially in the current political climate we are in now. It’s so important to educate white Britain about stories so emotive for British Indians that recounting even the memory of being told about this brings my mum to tears. It is such an important part of her identity. A visit to India and Amritsar isn’t complete without a visit to Jallianwala Bagh. It also then has to be an important part of Britain’s identity and past. It was great to see people of colour at this exhibition as well as white British people.

I’ve always struggled with my background and living in place of my past oppressors. How do I reconcile the two and the pain that comes with it? Maybe telling these untold stories of pain shares and lightens the burden from these communities and goes some way to educating white Britain about its own horrific past.

(If you want to know more about this massacre Channel 4 did a great programme on it recently: The Massacre that shook the Empire.)

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