THE AMRITSAR RIOTS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3507, 9 June 1920, Page 7

THE AMRITSAR RIOTS.

RAPID FIRE ON MOB or 5000. ' Our cable messages a few days ago gave prominence to the 1-epol-1; of Lord‘ Hunter ’s Commission on the .r\rmi‘rsar riots, in which General Dyer '5 action in» firing on a crowd of 5000 people‘ assembled at Jallionwalla Bagh! Am. ritsar, in defiance of a proclamation! forbidding such gatherings. B(?t\V':‘\:-n ' 400 and 500 were killed, and a large] ‘fiurnber wounded_ i General Dyer, in giving evidence at“ 'the inqniry held by the Commission, said he regarded it as his duty to fire ——“a very horrible dutzvu" Marti-. 11 law had been floured, and he had reason ‘to fear a serious rising. i The evidence before the Ccnnnission. according to the account given in ihe {Times of India, was that the 11101) ‘burned the National Bank premises. %l1111I‘(i€1‘9d the inanuger and assistant, ‘and 1)i11'11(3d their bodies Xvith keros<:nz~. % Two other baxfks. the Town Hall and Post: Office and various mission ,stations were also 10‘nt<:*d. ! The railway’lineg were cut. and the ilvillagers from outside a:".i'\-‘ed to he.-In i in looting.

Two days later (on April 13) Genm-n1 Dyer, who had proclaimed martial law, found whaf he called a rebel cl'o'»\‘d assembled.

He Had irssued p1'Oc1:111121tim1s forbidding 21113.’ public nwetings, and when he got“ to ihe spot he considered it lxis duty to disperse the crowd by rapid fire.

His object. he said, was to scu‘.lmthe cfilwd and to go on firing until tl:r~‘_V had dispersed. General Dyer added, in alls\\'er to questions:—— “I think it is quite pOS.<ible I could have dispersed the crowd without llxing. but they would have come back and laughed at me, and i would have made what. I would consider :1 fool of myself.’ . Lord Hunter, the chairman, asked whether there was any 0ll1(§.1' coua-.40, and General Dyer replied:~— “No. I looked upon it as a duly, a very horrible duty.” The shooting lasted ten minutes. .1654) rounds being fired. The number 01’ killed was bc-hvemt 500 anal 500, and about 1500 were woundetl. . Mr Justice Rankin: Excuse my pulting it. this way, general, but \\'::&1 it not a fornl of fl'igliH‘l,lllless? General Dye.r said it was not_ He ad-cled that he shot well and strongly, so that nobody else .<lm1ll(l have to shoot again. He had to disperse the crowd, who had defied tltu law. There was no middle course in the existing circumstances. The one thing was force. TO GIVE THEM A LESSON. _ Asked if his idea was to strike terror, he said that if he found they had disobeyed the order he meant to punish them and give them a lesson. His idea was that from a military point of view. it would make a wide iinpression throughout tlle':Punjah. I

Genel-ul"‘D_vex- described the punishment inflicted for an assault on Miss Sherwood, 21 lu'lssionary, who while cycling in :1 street was set upon "by a crowd. beaten with shoes and sticlis, and lefr for dead. '

Gexieml Dyer said “We look upon women as szlcred. I >=e:zl-clied about in my mind for a. form of punisllmenl.,” He tlierefore ordered that the srl'<->§_=f in which this took place should be picketed from 6 n.m. to 8 p‘nl., and that no Indian shouTd pass along it except by crawling along on all fours. He “merely wanted ‘m keep the street, sacre(l,” he said.

He did not know that a party of Dl'i.\'Oll€‘!'S arrested under nlal'tial law were taken along t'hat.sl'l-eet and made to crawl on their hands and knees, buf he admitted tlmi‘ Indians who did not sailaum to British officers and were “impertinent’,’ were made to crawl. .

During martial law there were Iwont,\'-six sentences of whipping, and six of ihese/sentences were carried out at the place in the street, where Miss Sherwood was assaulted. The men were afterwards transportW],