Green Revolution in India | Wheat prodution and Rationale for the Green Revolution.

 

The Green Revolution in India was a period that began in the 1960s during which agriculture in India was converted into a modern industrial system by the adoption of technology, such as the use of high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds , mechanized farm tools, irrigation facilities, pesticides , and fertilisers. Mainly led by agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan in India, this period was part of the larger Green Revolution endeavor initiated by Norman Borlaug , which leveraged agricultural research and technology to increase agricultural productivity in the developing world. Varieties or strains of crops can be selected by breeding for various useful characteristics such as disease resistance , response to fertilisers, product quality and high yields.

Under the premiership of Congress leaders Lal Bahadur Shastri the Green Revolution within India commenced in 1968, leading to an increase in food grain production, especially in Punjab, Haryana , and Western Uttar Pradesh . Major milestones in this undertaking were the development of high-yielding varieties of wheat, and rust -resistant strains of wheat.

Notable figures and institutions

A number of people have been recognized for their efforts during Indials Green Revolution.

• MS Swaminathan , the main architect or the Father of the Green Revolution in India.

• Chidambaram Subramaniam , the food and agriculture minister at the time, a Bharat Ratna has been called the Political Father of the Green Revolution.

• Dilbagh Singh Athwal , is called the Father of the Wheat Revolution.

• Scientists such as Atmaram Bhairav Joshi.

• Institutions such as Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).

wheat production

The main development was higher-yielding varieties of wheat, for developing rust -resistant strains of wheat. The introduction of high-yielding varieties (HYV) of seeds and the improved quality of fertilisers and irrigation techniques led to the increase in the production to make the country self-sufficient in food grains, thus improving agriculture in India . Also, other varieties such as Kalyan Sona and Sonalika were introduced by cross-breeding of wheat with other crops. The methods adopted included the use of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds with modern farming methods.

The production of wheat has produced the best results in fueling the self-sufficiency of India. Along with high-yielding seeds and irrigation facilities, the enthusiasm of farmers mobilized the idea of an agricultural revolution. Due to the rise in the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers, there was a negative effect on the soil and the land (eg, land degradation ).

Other practices

The other practices include irrigation infrastructure, use of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides, consolidation of holdings, land reforms, improved rural infrastructure, supply of agricultural credit, use of chemical or synthetic fertilisers, use of sprinklers or drip irrigation systems, and use of advanced machinery.

Rationale for the Green Revolution

The Green Revolution in India was first introduced in Punjab in late 1966-67 as part of a development program issued by international donor agencies and the Government of India.

During the British Raj , India's grain economy hinged on a unilateral relation of exploitation. Consequently, when India gained independence, the weakened country quickly became vulnerable to frequent famines, financial instabilities, and low productivity. These factors formed a rationale for the implementation of the Green Revolution as a development strategy in India.

• Frequent famines: In 1964-65 and 1965-66, India experienced two severe droughts which led to food shortages and famines among the country's growing population. Modern agricultural technologies appeared to offer strategies to counter the frequency of famines. There is debate regarding India's famines prior to independence, with some arguing they were intensified by British taxation and agrarian policies in the 19th and 20th centuries, and others downplaying such effects of colonial rule.

• Lack of finance: Marginal farmers found it very difficult to get finance and credit at economical rates from the government and banks and hence, fell as easy prey to the money lenders . They took loans from landlords , who charged high rates of interest and also exploited the farmers later on to work in their fields to repay the loans ( farm labourers ). Proper financing was not given during the Green Revolution period, which created a lot of problems and sufferings for the farmers of India. The government also helped those under loans.

• Low productivity: In the context of India's rapidly growing population, the country's traditional agricultural practices yielded insufficient food production. By the 1960s, this low productivity led India to experience food grain shortages that were more severe than those of other developing countries. Agricultural technological advancements offered opportunities to increase productivity.

Criticism

The Green Revolution yielded great economic prosperity during its early years. In Punjab, where it was first introduced, the Green Revolution led to significant increases in the state's agricultural output, supporting India's overall economy. By 1970, Punjab was producing 70% of the country's total food grains, and farmers' incomes were increasing by over 70%. Punjab's prosperity following the Green Revolution became a model to which other states aspired to reach.

However, despite the initial prosperity experienced in Punjab, the Green Revolution was met with much controversy throughout India.

Indian economic sovereignty

Criticism of the effects of the green revolution includes the cost for many small farmers using HYV seeds, with their associated demands of increased irrigation systems and pesticides. A case study is found in India, where farmers are buying Monsanto BT cotton seeds- were sold on the idea that these seeds produced 'non-natural insecticides'. In reality, they still had to pay for expensive pesticides and irrigation systems, which led to increased borrowing to finance the change from traditional seed varieties. Many farmers had difficulty paying for the expensive technologies, especially if they had a bad harvest. These high costs of cultivation pushed rural farmers to take out loans- typically at high interest rates. Over-borrowing entrapped the farmers into a cycle of debt.

India's liberalized economy further exacerbated the farmers' economic conditions. Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva writes that this is the "second Green Revolution". The first Green Revolution, she suggests, was mostly publicly funded (by the Indian Government). This new Green Revolution, she says, is driven by private (and foreign) interest- notably MNCs like Monsanto- as encouraged by Neoliberalism. Ultimately, this is leading to foreign ownership over most of India's farmland, undermining farmers' interests.

Farmers' financial issues have become especially apparent in Punjab, where its rural areas have witnessed an alarming rise in suicide rates. Excluding the countless unreported cases, there has been estimated to be a 51.97 % increase in the number of suicides in Punjab in 1992-93, compared to the recorded 5.11% increase in the country as a whole. According to a 2019 Indian news report, indebtedness continues to be a grave issue affecting the people of Punjab today, demonstrated by the more than 900 recorded farmer committed suicide in Punjab in the last two years.

Environmental damage

Excessive and inappropriate use of fertilizers and pesticides polluted waterways and killed beneficial insects and wildlife. It has caused over-use of soil and rapidly depleted its nutrients. The rampant irrigation practices led to eventual soil degradation . Groundwater practices have fallen dramatically. Further, heavy dependence on few major crops has led to the loss of biodiversity of farmers and the increase of stubble burning cases since 1980. These problems were aggravated due to the absence of training to use modern technology and vast illiteracy leading to excessive use of chemicals.

Increased regional disparities

The green revolution spread only in irrigated and high-potential rain-fed areas. The villages or regions without access to sufficient water were left out that widened the regional disparities between adopters and non-adopters. Since, the HYV seeds technically can be applied only on land with assured water supply and availability of other inputs like chemicals, fertilisers, etc. The application of the new technology in dry-land areas is simply ruled out.

States like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh , etc. Having good irrigation and other infrastructure facilities were able to derive the benefits of the green revolution and achieve faster economic development while other states have recorded slow growth in agriculture production.

Alternative farming methods

In the years since the Green Revolution was adopted, issues of sustainability have come up due to the adverse environmental and social consequences. To meet this challenge other alternatives to farming have emerged like small subsistence farms, family homesteads, New Age communes, village and community farming collectives and women's cooperatives with the common purpose of producing organically grown, chemical-free food. In green revolution areas of the country, increasing numbers of families are experimenting on their own with alternative systems of land management and the growing of crops. Building upon the idea of sustainable development , commercial models for large-scale food production have been developed by integrating traditional farming systems with appropriate energy efficient technology.

Subhash Chandra Bose Social Work | Biography of Subhash Chandra Bose

 

Subhash Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 - 18 August 1945) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Fascist Japan left a legacy vexed by authoritarianism, anti-Semitism, and military failure. The honorific 'Netaji' (Hindustani : "Respected Leader") was first applied to Bose in Germany in early 1942- by the Indian soldiers of the Indische Legion and by the German and Indian officials in the Special Bureau for India in Berlin. It is now used throughout India.

Bose was born into wealth and privilege in a large Bengali family in Orissa during the British Raj. He received an education oriented towards British standards and was subsequently sent to England to take the Indian Civil Service examination. He succeeded with distinction in the first exam but chose not to proceed with the standard final exam. Returning to India in 1921, Bose joined the nationalist movement led by Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress . He followed Jawaharlal Nehru to leadership in a group within the Congress which was less keen on constitutional reform and more open to socialism. Bose became Congress president in 1938. After reelection in 1939, differences arose between him and the Congress leaders, including Gandhi, over the future federation of British India and princely states , but also because discomfort had grown among the Congress leadership over Bose's negotiable attitude to non-violence, and his plans for greater powers for himself. After the large majority of the Congress Working Committee members resigned in protest, Bose resigned as president and was eventually ousted from the party.

In April 1941 Bose arrived in Nazi Germany, where the leadership offered unexpected but equivocal sympathy for India's independence. German funds were employed to open a Free India Center in Berlin . A 3,000-strong Free India Legion was recruited from among Indian POWs captured by Erwin Rommel Is Afrika Korps to serve under Bose. Although peripheral to their main goals, the Germans inconclusively considered a land invasion of India throughout 1941. By the spring of 1942, the German army was mired in Russia and Bose became keen to move to southeast Asia, where Japan had just won quick Victories. Adolf Hitler during his only meeting with Bose in late May 1942 agreed to arrange a submarine. During this time, Bose became a father; his wife, or companion, Emilie Schenkl , gave birth to Anita Bose Pfaff. Identifying strongly with the Axis powers , Bose boarded a German submarine in February 1943. Off Madagascar, he was transferred to a Japanese submarine from which he disembarked in Japanese-held Sumatra in May 1943.

With Japanese support, Bose revamped the Indian National Army (INA), which comprised Indian prisoners of war of the British Indian army who had been captured by the Japanese in the Battle of Singapore. A Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind) was declared on the Japanese-occupied Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was nominally presided over by Bose. The Japanese considered him to be militarily unskilled, and his soldierly effort was short-lived. In late 1944 and early 1945, the British Indian Army reversed the Japanese attack on India . Almost half of the Japanese forces and fully half of the participating INA contingent were killed. The remaining INA was driven down the Malay Peninsula and surrendered with the recapture of Singapore . Bose chose to escape to Manchukuo to seek a future in the Soviet Union which he believed to have turned anti-British.

Bose died from third-degree burns after his plane crashed in Japanese Taiwan on 18 August 1945. Some Indians did not believe that the crash had occurred, expecting Bose to return to secure India's independence.The Indian National Congress, the main instrument of Indian nationalism, praised Bose's patriotism but distanced itself from his tactics and ideology. The British Raj, never seriously threatened by the INA, charged 300 INA officers with treason in the Indian National Army trials , but eventually backtracked in the face of opposition by the Congress, and a new mood in Britain for rapid decolonisation in India. Bose's legacy is mixed. Among many in India, he is seen as a hero. Many on the right and far-right often venerate him as a champion of Indian nationalism as well as Hindu identity by spreading conspiracy theories. His collaborations with Japanese fascism and Nazism pose serious ethical dilemmas, especially his reluctance to publicly criticize the worst excesses of German anti-Semitism from 1938 onwards or to offer refuge in India to its victims.

Biography

1897-1921: Early life

Subhas Chandra Bose was born to Bengali parents Prabhabati Bose and Janakinath Bose on 23 January 1897 in Cuttack- in what is today the state of Odisha in India but was part of the Bengal Presidency in British India. Prabhabati, or familiarly Ma janani the anchor of family life, had her first child at age 14 and 13 children thereafter. Subhas was the ninth child and the sixth son. Jankinath, a successful lawyer and government pleader, was loyal to the government of British India and scrupulous about matters of language and the law.

Following his five older brothers, Bose entered the Baptist Mission's Protestant European School in Cuttack in January 1902. English was the medium of all instruction in the school, the majority of the students being European or Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian ancestry. The curriculum included English-correctly written and spoken- Latin, the Bible, good manners, British geography, and British History; no Indian languages were taught. The choice of the school was Bose's father's, who wanted his sons to speak flawless English with flawless intonation, believing both to be important for access to the British in India. The school contrasted with Subhas's home, where only Bengali was spoken. His father, who was reserved in manner and busy with professional life, was a distant presence in a large family, causing Subhas to feel he had a nondescript childhood. Still, Janakinath read English literature avidly- John Milton , William Cowper , Matthew Arnold and Shakespeare Is Hamlet being among his favourites; several of his sons were to become English literature enthusiasts like him. 

In 1909, the 12-year-old Subhas Bose followed his five brothers to the Ravenshaw Collegiate School in Cuttack. Here, Bengali and Sanskrit were also taught, as were ideas from Hindu scriptures such as the Vedas and the Upanishads not usually picked up at home. Although his Western education continued apace, he began to wear Indian clothes and engage in religious speculation. To his mother, he wrote long letters which displayed acquaintance with the ideas of the Bengali mystic Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and his disciple Swami Vivekananda , and the novel Ananda Math by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee , popular then among young Hindu men. In 1912, he secured the second position in the matriculation examination conducted under the auspices of the University of Calcutta.

Subhas Bose followed his five brothers again in 1913 to Presidency College, Calcutta, the historic and traditional college for Bengal's upper- caste Hindu men. He chose to study philosophy, his readings including Kant , Hegel , Bergson and other Western philosophers. A year earlier, he had befriended Hemanta Kumar Sarkar , a confidant and partner in religious yearnings. At Presidency, their emotional ties grew stronger. In the fanciful language of religious imagery, they declared their pure love for each other.

In February 1916, Bose was accused of involvement in an attack on Professor EF Oaten at Presidency College. Students claimed Oaten had insulted Indian culture and manhandled them; Oaten said they were simply noisy outside his class. On 15 February, a group of students assaulted him on a staircase with sandals before fleeing. An inquiry committee was constituted. Though Oaten was unhurt and unable to identify them, a servant reported seeing Bose and his classmate Ananga Dam among those escaping. Both were expelled from the college and barred from the University of Calcutta. Bose's family connections were employed to pressure Asutosh Mukherjee , the Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University. Despite this, Bose's expulsion remained in place until 20 July 1917, when the Syndicate of Calcutta University granted him permission to return, but to another college. He joined Scottish Church College , receiving his BA in 1918 in the First Class with honors in philosophy, placing second among all philosophy students in Calcutta University.

At his father's urging, Subhas Bose agreed to travel to England to prepare and appear for the Indian Civil Services (ICS) examination. Arriving in London on 20 October 1919, Subhas readied his application for the ICS. For his references he put down Lord Sinha of Raipur , Under Secretary of State for India, and Bhupendranath Basu , a wealthy Calcutta lawyer who sat on the Council of India in London. Bose was also eager to gain admission to a college at the University of Cambridge .It was past the deadline for admission. He sought help from some Indian students and from the Non-Collegiate Students Board. The Board offered the university's education at an economical cost without formal admission to a college. Bose entered the register of the university on 19 November 1919 and simultaneously set about preparing for the Civil Service exams. He chose the Mental and Moral Sciences Tripos at Cambridge, its completion requirement reduced to two years on account of his Indian BA.

There were six vacancies in the ICS. Subhas Bose took the open competitive exam for them in August 1920 and was placed fourth. This was a vital first step. Still remaining was a final examination in 1921 on more topics on India, including the Indian Penal Code , the Indian Evidence Act , Indian history, and an Indian language. Successful candidates also had to clear a riding test. Having no fear of these subjects and being a rider, Subhas Bose felt the ICS was within easy reach. Yet between August 1920 and 1921 he began to have doubts about taking the final examination. Many letters were exchanged with his father and his brother Sarat Chandra Bose back in Calcutta. In one letter to Sarat, Subhas wrote,

"But for a man of my temperament who has been feeding on ideas that might be called eccentric- the line of least resistance is not the best line to follow. The uncertainties of life are not appealing to one who has not, at heart, worldly ambitions. Moreover, it is not possible to serve one's country in the best and fullest manner if one is chained on to the civil service.”

In April 1921, Subhas Bose made his decision firm not to take the final examination for the ICS and wrote to Sarat informing him of the same, apologizing to members of his family. On 22 April 1921, he wrote to the Secretary of State for India , Edwin Montagu , stating, "l wish to have my name removed from the list of probationers in the Indian Civil Service." The following day he wrote again to Sarat:

I received a letter from mother saying that in spite of what father and others think she prefers the ideals for which Mahatma Gandhi stands. I cannot tell you how happy I have been to receive such a letter. It will be worth a treasure for me as it has removed something like a burden from my mind.

For some time before Subhas Bose had been in touch with CR Das , a lawyer who had risen to the helm of politics in Bengal; Das encouraged Subhas to return to Calcutta. With the ICS decision now firmly behind him, Subhas Bose took his Cambridge BA Final examinations half-heartedly, passing, but being placed in the Third Class. He prepared to sail for India in June 1921, electing for a fellow Indian student to pick up his diploma.

1921 - 1932: Indian National Congress

Subhas Bose, aged 24, arrived ashore in India at Bombay on the morning of 16 July 1921 and immediately set about arranging an interview with Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi, aged 51, was the leader of the non-cooperation movement that had taken India by storm the previous year and in a quarter-century would evolve to secure its independence. Gandhi happened to be in Bombay and agreed to see Bose that afternoon. In Bose's account of the meeting, written many years later, he pilloried Gandhi with question after question. Bose thought Gandhi's answers were vague, his goals unclear, his plan for achieving them not thought through. Gandhi and Bose differed in this first meeting on the question of means- for Gandhi non-violent means to any end were non-negotiable; in Bose's thought, all means were acceptable in the service of anti-colonial ends. They differed on the question of ends- Bose was attracted to totalitarian models of governance, which were anathematized by Gandhi. According to historian Gordon, "Gandhi, however, set Bose on to the leader of the Congress and Indian nationalism in Bengal, CR Das, and in him Bose found the leader whom he sought." Das was more flexible than Gandhi, more sympathetic to the extremism that had attracted idealistic young men such as Bose in Bengal. Das launched Bose into nationalist politics. Bose would work within the ambit of the Indian National Congress politics for nearly 20 years even as he tried to change its course.

In 1922 Bose founded the newspaper Swaraj and assumed charge of the publicity for the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee. His mentor was Chittaranjan Das , a voice for aggressive nationalism in Bengal . In 1923, Bose was elected the President of Indian Youth Congress and also the Secretary of the Bengal State Congress. He became the editor of the newspaper "Forward", which had been founded by Chittaranjan Das. Bose worked as the CEO of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation for Das when the latter was elected mayor of Calcutta in 1924. During the same year, when Bose was leading a protest march in Calcutta, he, Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi and other leaders were arrested and imprisoned. After a roundup of nationalists in 1925, Bose was sent to prison in Mandalay, British Burma , where he contracted tuberculosis.

In 1927, after being released from prison, Bose became general secretary of the Congress party and worked with Jawaharlal Nehru for independence. In late December 1928, Bose organized the Annual Meeting of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta. His most memorable role was as general officer commanding (GOC) Congress Volunteer Corps. Author Nirad Chaudhuri wrote about the meeting:

Bose organized a volunteer corps in uniform, its officers were even provided with steel-cut epaulettes. His uniform was made by a firm of British tailors in Calcutta, Harman's. A telegram addressed to him as GOC was delivered to the British General in Fort William and was the subject of a good deal of malicious gossip in the (British Indian) press. Mahatma Gandhi as a sincere pacifist vowed to non-violence, did not like the strutting, clicking of boots, and saluting, and he afterwards described the Calcutta session of the Congress as a Bertram Mills circus , which caused a great deal of indignation among the Bengalis.

A little later, Bose was again arrested and jailed for civil disobedience ; this time he emerged to become Mayor of Calcutta in 1930.

1937 - 1940: Indian National Congress

In 1938 Bose stated his opinion that the INC "should be organized on the broadest anti-imperialist front with the two-fold objective of winning political freedom and the establishment of a socialist regime." By 1938 Bose had become a leader of national stature and agreed to accept nomination as Congress President. He stood for unqualified Swaraj (self-governance), including the use of force against the British. This meant a confrontation with Mohandas Gandhi, who in fact opposed Bose's presidency, splitting the Indian National Congress party.

Bose attempted to maintain unity, but Gandhi advised Bose to form his own cabinet. The rift also divided Bose and Nehru; he appeared at the 1939 Congress meeting on a stretcher. He was elected president again over Gandhi's preferred candidate Pattabhi Sitaramayya. U. Muthuramalingam Thevar strongly supported Bose in the intra-Congress dispute. Thevar mobilized all south India votes for Bose. However, due to the manoeuvrings of the Gandhi- led clique in the Congress Working Committee, Bose found himself forced to resign from the Congress presidency.

On 22 June 1939 Bose organized the All India Forward Bloc a faction within the Indian National Congress, aimed at consolidating the political left, but its main strength was in his home state, Bengal. U Muthuramalingam Thevar, who was a staunch supporter of Bose from the beginning, joined the Forward Bloc. When Bose visited Madurai on 6 September, Thevar organized a massive rally as his reception.

When Subhas Chandra Bose was heading to Madurai, on an invitation of Muthuramalinga Thevar to amass support for the Forward Bloc, he passed through Madras and spent three days at Gandhi Peak. His correspondence reveals that despite his clear dislike for British subjugation, he was deeply impressed by their methodical and systematic approach and their steadfastly disciplinary outlook towards life. In England, he exchanged ideas on the future of India with British Labor Party leaders and political thinkers like Lord Halifax , George Lansbury , Clement Attlee , Arthur Greenwood , Harold Laski , JBS Haldane , Ivor Jennings , GDH Cole , Gilbert Murray and Sir Stafford Cripps.

He came to believe that an independent India needed socialist authoritarianism, on the lines of Turkey's Kemal Ataturk, for at least two decades. For political reasons Bose was refused permission by the British authorities to meet Atatürk at Ankara . During his sojourn in England Bose tried to schedule appointments with several politicians, but only the Labor Party and Liberal politicians agreed to meet with him. Conservative Party officials refused to meet him or show him courtesy because he was a politician coming from a colony. In the 1930s leading figures in the Conservative Party had opposed even Dominion status for India. It was during the Labor Party government of 1945 - 1951, with Attlee as the Prime Minister, that India gained independence.

On the outbreak of war, Bose advocated a campaign of mass civil disobedience to protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow 's decision to declare war on India's behalf without consulting the Congress leadership. Having failed to persuade Gandhi of the necessity of this, Bose organized mass protests in Calcutta calling for the removal of the "Holwell Monument" , which then stood at the corner of Dalhousie Square in memoriam of those who died in the Black Hole of Calcutta. He was thrown in jail by the British, but was released following a seven-day hunger strike. Bose's house in Calcutta was kept under surveillance by the CID.

Mahatma Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha | Theme of the movement and Impact of the movement

 

The Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four-day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly. Another reason for this march was that the civil disobedience movement needed a strong opening that would inspire more people to follow Gandhi's example. Gandhi began this march with 78 of his trusted volunteers. The march stretched 240 miles (390 km), from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, called Navsari at the time (now in the state of Gujarat). Growing numbers of Indians joined them along the way. When Gandhi broke the British Raj salt laws at 8:30 am on 6 April 1930, it sparked massive acts of civil disobedience against the salt laws by millions of Indians.

After making salt by evaporation at Dandi, Gandhi continued south along the coast, making salt and addressing meetings along the way. The Congress Party planned to hold a satyagraha at the Dharasana Salt Works, 130,000 feet (40 km) south of Dandi . However, Gandhi was arrested at midnight on 4-5 May 1930, a few days before the planned action at Dharasana. The Dandi March and the ensuing Dharasana satyagraha attracted worldwide attention to the Indian independence movement through extensive newspaper and newsreel coverage. The satyagraha against the salt tax continued for nearly a year, ending with Gandhi's release from prison and negotiations with Lord Irwin at the Second Round Table Conference. Although the Salt Satyagraha resulted in the imprisonment of over 60,000 Indians, the British did not immediately make major concessions.

The Salt Satyagraha campaign was based on Gandhi's principles of nonviolent protest, called satyagraha, which he translated succinctly as "truth-force". Literally, it is composed of the Sanskrit words satya, "truth", and agraha, "insistence". In the early 1930s the Indian National Congress chose satyagraha as its main strategy to win Indian sovereignty and self-rule from British rule and appointed Gandhi to organize the campaign. Gandhi chose the British Salt Act of 1882 as the first target of satyagraha. The Salt March to Dandi, and the beating by British police of hundreds of nonviolent demonstrators at Dharasana, which received worldwide news coverage, demonstrated the effective use of civil disobedience as a technique to fight social and political injustice. The satyagraha teachings of Gandhi and the March to Dandi had a significant influence on American activists Martin Luther King , James Bevel and others during the civil rights movement for civil rights for African Americans and other minority groups in the 1960s. The march was the most significant organized challenge to British authority since the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920-22, and directly followed the Indian National Congress declaration of sovereignty and self-rule of Purna Swaraj on 26 January 1930. It attracted worldwide attention which accelerated the Indian independence movement and launched a nationwide civil disobedience movement that continued until 1934. The march reached Dandi about 25 days later on 6 April 1930, covering a distance of 241 miles. Gandhi then sent a powerful message to the British government by picking up a handful of salt from the sea bed in Kutch and breaking the salt law. The movement lasted for about a year. In which more than 60,000 Indians were arrested. This satyagraha was ended in 1931 with the agreement between Gandhi and the then Viceroy Lord Irwin. But by then the spark had ignited and this movement led to the 'Civil Disobedience Movement'. Which gave rise to a widespread mass struggle against the British rule in the entire country.

Theme of the movement

The Dandi March, also known as the Salt March and Dandi Satyagraha, was a nonviolent civil disobedience movement led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. It was carried out from March 12, 1930 to April 6, 1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British monopoly on salt. Gandhi set out on March 12 with 78 followers, a 241 -mile march from Sabarmati to the Arabian Sea (to the coastal town of Dandi), to protest Gandhi and his supporters' policy of making salt from seawater. Indian nationalists led crowds to make salt in coastal cities such as Bombay and Karachi, following the example of Dandi. The civil disobedience movement spread across the country, soon involving millions of Indians. British authorities arrested more than 60,000 people. The satyagraha continued even after Gandhi was arrested on 5 May. On 21 May, poet Sarojini Naidu led a group of 2,500 people to Dharasana, about 150 miles north of Bombay. The incident, recorded by the American journalist Webb Miller, sparked international outrage against British policy in India. Gandhi was released from prison in January 1931, after which he met Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of India, to attend the Round Table Conferences on India's future in London and to end satyagraha. Gandhi attended the conference in August 1931 as the sole representative of the nationalist Indian National Congress. The meeting was disappointing, but British leaders recognised Gandhi as a force they could neither suppress nor ignore.

Declaration of sovereignty and self-rule

At midnight on 31 December 1929, the Congress (Indian National Congress) hoisted the tricolour flag of India on the banks of the Ravi in Lahore. The Indian National Congress, led by Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, publicly issued a declaration of sovereignty and self-rule, or Purna Swaraj, on 26 January 1930. (Literally in Sanskrit, purna, "full," sva, "self," raj, "rule," hence "complete self-rule") The declaration included a readiness to withdraw taxes and the statement:

We believe that the Indian people, like any other people, have an inalienable right to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their labour and to have the necessities of life, so that they may have full opportunity for development. We also believe that if any Government deprives the people of these rights and oppresses them the people have a further right to alter or abolish it. British Government in India has not only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has relied on the exploitation of the masses, and has ruined India economically, politically, culturally and spiritually. We, therefore, believe that India must sever the British connection and attain 'Purna Swaraj' or complete sovereignty and self-rule.

The Congress Working Committee gave Gandhi the responsibility of organising the first act of civil disobedience, with the Congress itself prepared to take over if Gandhi was arrested. Gandhi's plan was to begin civil disobedience with satyagraha aimed at the British salt tax. The Salt Act of 1882 gave the British a monopoly on the collection and manufacture of salt, restricted its operation to government salt depots, and imposed a salt tax. Violation of the Salt Act was a criminal offence. Even though salt was freely available to those living on the coast (by the evaporation of sea water), Indians were forced to buy it from the colonial government.

A memorable speech on the eve of the historic march

Gandhiji said, "It is quite possible that this will be my last speech to you. Even if the government allows me to march tomorrow morning, this will be my last speech on the sacred banks of Sabarmati. These may be the last words of my life spoken here."

I have told you yesterday what I wanted to say. Today I will tell you what you should do after I and my comrades have been arrested. The programme of marching to Jalalpur , as originally planned, must be carried out. The enrolment of volunteers for this purpose must be confined to Gujarat only. From what I have done and heard during the last fortnight, I am of the opinion that the stream of civil resisters will continue to flow inexhaustibly.

But even after all of us are arrested, there should not be a semblance of breach of peace. We have resolved to use all our resources in a particularly non-violent struggle. No one should commit any mistake in anger. This is my hope and prayer. I want these words of mine to reach every nook and corner of the country. If I and my comrades do this, my work will be done. After this it will be the responsibility of the Congress Working Committee to show you the way and it will be up to you to follow their lead. Till I reach Jalalpur, nothing is to be done that violates any of the rights entrusted to me by the Congress. But once I am arrested, the entire responsibility shifts to the Congress. Therefore, as a creed, no one who believes in non-violence need sit quietly. As soon as I am arrested, my alliance with the Congress ends. Volunteers, in such a situation, civil disobedience of salt should be started wherever possible. My compact with Congress terminates as soon as I am arrested. In this case there are three ways in which these laws may be violated. The making of salt is a crime wherever there are facilities for the manufacture of salt. The possession and sale of contraband salt, including natural salt or salty earth, is also a crime. The purchaser of such salt is equally guilty. Likewise, it is a violation of the law to collect natural salt on the seashore and carry it away. The sale of such salt is also a crime. In short, you may choose any one or all of these three devices to break the salt monopoly.

Nevertheless, we must not be satisfied with this alone. No restrictions have been imposed by the Congress and wherever there is self-confidence in the local workers, other suitable measures may be adopted. I have stressed only one condition, namely, that our pledge about truth and non-violence as the only means for the attainment of Swaraj be sincerely kept. For the rest, each one is at liberty. But, please do not give a licence to all and sundry to act on their own responsibility. Where there are local leaders, their orders must be obeyed by the people. Where there are no leaders and only a handful of people believe in the programme, they must do what they can, if they have sufficient self-confidence. They have not the right to do so, it is their duty. History is full of examples of people who, by sheer force of self-confidence, bravery and perseverance, have risen to the leadership. If we sincerely desire Swaraj and are desperate to achieve it, we too must have the same self-confidence. As the number of our arrests by the government increases, our status will grow and our hearts will grow stronger.

Besides these there is much that can be done in many other ways. Shops selling liquor and foreign cloth can be picketed. If we have the requisite strength, we can refuse to pay taxes. Lawyers can give up practice. The public can boycott the law courts by avoiding public litigation. Government servants can resign from their posts. People who resign in the midst of despair are trembling in fear of losing employment. Such people are unfit for Swaraj. But why this despair? The number of government servants in the country is not more than a few hundred thousand. What about the rest? Where are they going? Even independent India will not be able to accommodate a large number of government servants. A collector will not need as many servants as he has today. He will be his own servant. Our starving millions cannot afford this heavy expenditure. Therefore, if we are wise enough, we must bid adieu to government employment, whether it is the post of a judge or a peon. Put aside those who cooperate with the government, whether it is paying taxes or keeping titles, or sending children to government schools or in any other form, return their cooperation in every way possible. Apart from this, there are women who can stand shoulder to shoulder with men in this struggle. Under this movement, Dr. Hedgewar ji, the founder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, did Jungle Satyagraha, due to which he was also sentenced to 9 months of rigorous imprisonment.

You may consider this as my wish. This was the message I wanted to give you before I started the march or went to jail. I want that tomorrow morning or if I am arrested before that, there should be no suspension or abandonment of the war which is to be started tomorrow. I will eagerly await the news that ten new groups have been formed the moment our group is arrested. I believe that there are people in India who will complete the work that I have started. I believe in the righteousness of our work and the sanctity of our arms. And where the method is right, God is undoubtedly present with His blessings. And where these three are combined, defeat is impossible. A satyagrahi is always victorious, whether he is free or imprisoned. He is defeated only when he abandons truth and non-violence and turns a deaf ear to the voice of conscience. Therefore, if even one satyagrahi is defeated, he himself is the cause of it. May God bless you all and remove all obstacles from your path in the struggle that begins tomorrow.

Impact of the movement

The Civil Disobedience Movement was launched in different forms in different provinces, with special emphasis on the boycott of foreign goods. In eastern India, the Chowkidari tax was refused to be paid, under which the No-Tax Campaign became very popular in Bihar. J.N. Sengupta openly disobeyed government laws by reading books banned by the government in Bengal. Forest laws were disobeyed on a large scale in Maharashtra. The movement spread like wildfire in the provinces of Awadh, Orissa , Tamil Nadu , Andhra Pradesh and Assam.

a well planned movement

Mahatma Gandhi used the protest against the unjust salt law made by the British as a weapon to oppose the British. This march received huge public support and as the march progressed, many people joined it.

used to walk 16 kilometers daily

Gandhiji, along with his 79 companions, travelled 240 miles (386 kilometres) against the British salt law and reached Dandi, a small village in Navsari, where, on reaching the seashore, he publicly broke the salt law by making salt. In this journey that lasted for 25 days, Bapu travelled 16 kilometres every day, after which he reached Dandi on 6 April. People supported him. 12 March 1930 is considered an important milestone in India's freedom struggle. This was the time when just a few months ago, the Congress had resolved for complete independence. Earlier in 1920, the non-cooperation movement fell prey to the Chauri Chaura violence. After this, this was the first such a big mass movement in which people fully supported Bapu and this movement was successful while remaining completely non-violent.

Broke the pride of the British rule

After the Dandi March ended, large scale arrests were made under the ongoing non-cooperation movement. All the front line leaders of the Congress kept getting arrested, but the agitators and their supporters did not resort to violence in any way. Even when American journalist Webb Miller presented the story of the atrocities committed by the British on the Satyagrahis to the world, the British Empire was greatly humiliated all over the world.

Foundation of Indian Independence

This movement ended with the Gandhi Irwin Pact. After this, the British started thinking about giving autonomy to India. This was also reflected in the 1935 law and with the belief in the success of civil disobedience, Gandhiji started the Quit India Movement in 1942, which forced the British to leave India.

Union contribution

The work of the Sangh had become effective only in the Central Province. Here it was decided to do satyagraha by breaking the forest law instead of the salt law. Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar handed over the responsibility of the Sarsanghchalak of the Sangh to Dr. Laxman Vasudev Paranjape and himself went to do satyagraha with many volunteers. While going to Yavatmal for satyagraha, the viewpoint of the Sangh in the freedom struggle becomes clear in the address of Dr. Hedgewarji in the public meeting held at a place called Pusad. He had said- For attaining freedom, all the ways from polishing the boots of the British to removing their boots from the feet and bleeding their heads with them can be the means for me to attain freedom. I only know this much that the country has to be made free. The Satyagrahi group that went with Dr. Hedgewarji included 12 volunteers including Appa ji Joshi (later Sarkaryavah), Dadarao Parmarth (later first provincial pracharak in Madras). They were given 9 months of rigorous imprisonment. After that, the All India Anna Dr. Physical Education Chief (Sir Senapati) Martand Jog ji, District Sanghchalak of Nagpur Appa ji Hlade and many other activists and groups of volunteers from branches also formed a team of 100 volunteers for the security of the satyagrahis, whose members were present during the satyagraha. On 8 August, on Garhwal Day , many volunteers were injured by the police when they took out a procession by breaking Section 144. On Vijayadashmi 1931, Doctor ji was in jail, in his absence a message was read in the branches of the Sangh in every village, in which it was said- Until the slavery of the country is destroyed and the whole society becomes strong and self-reliant, do not rest! You do not have the right to desire personal happiness.

It is natural that the country got independence not due to the efforts of a single party, a family, a person or a particular community but due to the joint efforts of the entire countrymen. It is a different matter that one party has been taking special credit for it and has also made the freedom struggle a means to gain political advantage. Although these steps can be left to the discretion of that party, but no one can be given the right to point fingers at others in the freedom struggle, especially at a patriotic and nationalistic organization like the Sangh.

Importance

As a result of this movement, India's imports from Britain fell considerably. For example, imports of cloth from Britain fell by half. This movement was more widespread than previous movements, with large-scale participation of women, peasants, workers, students and urban elements such as traders and shopkeepers. Thus, now the Congress had acquired the character of an all-India organization. The support it received from the poor and the illiterate, both in towns and countryside, was remarkable. The open participation of Indian women in large numbers in this movement was indeed a unique experience of liberation for them. Although the Congress withdrew the Civil Disobedience Movement in the year 1934, the movement attracted global attention and marked an important stage in the progress of the anti -imperialist struggle.

A symbol of non-violent resistance

The Dandi March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four-day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly. The march was one of the most significant events of the Indian independence movement and inspired millions of Indians to join the struggle for independence from British rule. The march was the first step in a larger campaign of civil disobedience (satyagraha) against British rule in India, which gained momentum in early 1931, with the Indian public supporting Mahatma Gandhi and the satyagraha drawing worldwide attention. Salt production and distribution in India had long been a lucrative monopoly of the British.

Through a series of laws, Indians were prohibited from freely producing or selling salt, and instead Indians had to purchase expensive, heavily taxed salt, which was often imported. This affected many Indians, as those who were poor were reluctant to purchase it.

Indian protests against the salt tax began in the 19th century and became a major issue of contention throughout the subcontinent under British rule. In early 1930, Gandhi decided to lead a mass protest against the ever-increasing salt tax, starting in earnest through what is now the Indian state of Gujarat in the west. He began his march on foot from his ashram on the Arabian Sea coast ( near Ahmedabad ) on March 12, accompanied by several dozen volunteers.

Each day's march the group would visit a new village along the route, where larger and larger crowds would gather to hear Gandhi rail against the injustice of the taxation imposed on the poor. Hundreds more joined the original group of followers as they sought to reach the sea by 5 April, and all arrived at Dandi on 5 April after a journey of some 240 miles (385 km) to the coast.

On the morning of April 6, Gandhi and his followers picked up handfuls of salt on the seashore, thus technically "producing" salt and breaking the law, and Gandhi commanded all the nation to make salt.

No arrests were made that day, and Gandhi continued his satyagraha against the salt tax for the next two months, encouraging other Indians to break the salt laws through acts of civil disobedience.

Thousands were arrested and imprisoned in April , including Jawaharlal Nehru , whereupon he himself was imprisoned in early May, informing Lord Irwin ( Viceroy of India ) of his intention to visit the nearby Dharamsana salt works.

News of Gandhi's arrest inspired many thousands to join the satyagraha. On 21 May, the march on the salt works went ahead as planned under the patronage of the poet Sarojini Naidu . The police attacked and beat some 2,500 peaceful marchers. By the end of the year, about 60,000 people had been imprisoned.

Gandhi was released from detention in January 1931 and then held talks with Lord Irwin about ending the satyagraha campaign , later declaring a truce, which was formalised in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, signed on 5 March.

Gandhiji went to London as the sole representative of the Congress to attend the Second Round Table Conference (September-December 1931). There he demanded complete independence for India, which was not accepted by the British government.

moral of dandi march

Flagging off a foot march to re-enact the historic Salt March led by Mahatma Gandhi, the Prime Minister recalled that salt then represented honesty, trust, loyalty, labour, equality and self-reliance.

For Gandhi, his life was his message. He never spoke a single word that had no connection with his own work, trivial or otherwise. His every action was imbued with humility, a deep sense of humanism, self-reliance of the individual, the nation and the entire planet.

Our current politicians speak idealistic words at public gatherings and international forums. But in everything they do, they betray their own words: they beat drums and produce high decibel sounds, but they mean nothing.

Jallianwala Bagh massacre | Details of the incident and Memorial

 

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13 April 1919 ( on the day of Baisakhi ) at Jallianwala Bagh , near the Golden Temple in Amritsar , Punjab province of India . A meeting was being held to protest against the Rowlatt Act , when an English officer named General Dyer opened fire on the crowd without any reason, killing more than 400 people and injuring more than 2000. The Deputy Commissioner's Office of Amritsar lists 484 martyrs, while the total number of martyrs in Jallianwala Bagh is 388. British Raj records admit 200 people were injured and 379 people were martyred in this incident, of which 337 were men, 41 minor boys and a 6-week-old baby. According to unofficial figures, more than 1500 people were killed and more than 2000 were injured.

If any one event had the greatest impact on the Indian freedom struggle, it was this gruesome massacre. It is believed that this incident marked the beginning of the end of British rule in India.

In 1997 Queen Elizabeth paid her respects at the memorial. In 2013 British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the memorial. He wrote in the visitors' book that it was “a shameful episode in British history.”

Historical Day

13 April 1919 was the day of Baisakhi. Baisakhi is a major festival of the whole of India, but especially the farmers of Punjab and Haryana celebrate the joy of the New Year after harvesting the winter Rabi crop. On this day, 13 April 1699 , the tenth and last Guru Govind Singh established the Khalsa Panth. That is why Baisakhi is the biggest festival of Punjab and the surrounding states and Sikhs celebrate it as a collective birthday. A fair had been held in Amritsar for hundreds of years on that day, in which thousands of people had come from far and wide to Amritsar to visit Sri Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara to see Guru Ji and celebrate the festival of Baisakhi. At a distance of 500 meters from the Gurudwara, many children, women, old people had gathered to see Jallianwala Bagh and were celebrating the festival of Baisakhi with great joy.

The intentions of the British

In the First World War (1914-1918), Indian leaders and people openly supported the British. 13 lakh Indian soldiers and servants were deployed by the British in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, out of which 43,000 Indian soldiers were martyred in the war. After the war was over, Indian leaders and people were expecting cooperation and a lenient attitude from the British government, but the British government implemented the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms which were contrary to this sentiment.

But during the First World War , the opposition to the British in the region of Punjab had increased a lot, which was crushed by implementing the Defence of India Act (1 915). After that, in 1918, a Sedition Committee was appointed under the chairmanship of a British judge, Sydney Rowlatt, whose responsibility was to study which foreign powers were supporting the opposition to the British in India, especially in Punjab and Bengal. According to the suggestions of this committee, the Defence of India Act (1915) was expanded and the Rowlatt Act was implemented in India, which was to stop the ongoing movement for independence, under which the British government was given more powers so that it could impose censorship on the press, keep leaders in jail without trial, arrest people without warrant, try them in special tribunals and closed rooms without accountability, etc. The whole of India rose up in protest against this and people were getting arrested all over the country.

Gandhi ji

Gandhi had returned to India from South Africa by then and his popularity was gradually increasing. He called for protest against the Rowlatt Act, to suppress which the British government arrested more leaders and people under the Rowlatt Act and gave them severe punishments. This increased the public's anger and people disrupted rail and postal-telegraph services. The movement was reaching its peak in the first week of April. The streets of Lahore and Amritsar were filled with people. About 5,000 people had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh. Many officials of the British government felt that this was a repeat of the 1857 revolt and they were ready to do anything to prevent and suppress it.

atrocities of the british

Two leaders of the movement, Satyapal and Saifuddin Kichloo , were arrested and sentenced to Kalapani. On 10 April 1919, a demand was presented at the house of the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar to release these two leaders. But the British opened fire on the people who were protesting peacefully and in a civilized manner, which increased the tension a lot and on that day many banks, government buildings, town hall, railway station were set on fire. In this type of violence, 5 European citizens were killed. In protest, British soldiers kept firing bullets at the Indian people here and there, in which 8 to 20 Indians died. Amritsar remained peaceful in the next two days, but violence spread to many areas of Punjab and 3 other European citizens were killed. To suppress this, the British imposed martial law in most parts of Punjab.

Details of the incident

On the day of Baisakhi, 13 April 1919, a meeting was held in Amritsar's Jallianwala Bagh, in which some leaders were to give speeches. There was a curfew in the city, yet there were hundreds of people who had come with their families to see the fair and roam around the city on the occasion of Baisakhi and had reached there after hearing the news of the meeting. When the leaders were giving speeches standing on a pile of stones in the garden, Brigadier General Reginald Dyer reached there with 90 British soldiers. All of them had loaded rifles in their hands. When the leaders saw the soldiers, they asked the people present there to sit quietly.

Shootout

The soldiers surrounded the garden and started firing on the unarmed people without any warning. A total of 1650 rounds of bullets were fired in 10 minutes. Jallianwala Bagh was an empty field behind the houses at that time. There was only a narrow path to go there or exit and there were houses all around. There was no way to escape. Some people jumped into the only well present in the field to save their lives, but that well was also filled with dead bodies in no time. Jallianwala Bagh was once the property of a man named Jalli.

Casualties

The plaque in the garden states that 120 bodies were recovered from the well alone. There was a curfew in the city, so the injured could not be taken anywhere for treatment. People died there in agony. The Deputy Commissioner's Office in Amritsar lists 484 martyrs, while the total number of martyrs in Jallianwala Bagh is 388. British Raj records admit that 200 people were injured and 379 people were martyred in this incident, of which 337 were men, 41 were minor boys and a 6-week-old baby. According to unofficial figures, more than 1000 people were killed and more than 2000 were injured. The official death toll was 379, while according to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya at least 1300 people were killed. According to Swami Shraddhanand , the number of people who died was more than 1500 whereas according to Dr. Smith, the then civil surgeon of Amritsar, the number of people who died was more than 1800.

description of feat

On reaching back to the headquarters, Brigadier General Reginald Dyer telegrammed his senior officers that he was attacked by an army of Indians and to save himself he had to open fire. In reply to this, British Lieutenant Governor Michael ODyer telegrammed Brigadier General Reginald Dyer that you took the right step. I approve of your decision. Then British Lieutenant Governor Michael O'Dyer demanded imposition of martial law in Amritsar and other areas which was approved by Viceroy Lord Chelmsford.

Check

This massacre was condemned worldwide, under whose pressure Secretary of State for India Edwin Montagu appointed the Hunter Commission to investigate it in late 1919. Before the commission, Brigadier General Reginald Dyer admitted that he had already decided to kill people by firing bullets and he had also taken two cannons to fire on those who could not cross the narrow path. On the arrival of the report of the Hunter Commission, Brigadier General Reginald Dyer was demoted to the rank of Colonel in 1920 and was placed on the inactive list. It was decided not to give him a post in India and he was sent back to Britain on health grounds. The House of Commons passed a motion of condemnation against him but the House of Lords passed a motion of praise for him praising this massacre. Under the pressure of worldwide condemnation, the British government later passed a motion of condemnation against him and in 1920 Brigadier General Reginald Dyer had to resign. He died of natural causes in 1927. (Udham Singh Nagar was earlier in Nainital district. But in October 1995 it was made a separate district. This district is named after late Udham Singh. Udham Singh was a freedom fighter.) To investigate this murder, the Congress appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Madan Mohan Malaviya. A committee was appointed in.

Oppose 

Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore returned his knighthood in protest against this massacre. The enthusiasm of the people for freedom did not wane even after such a horrific incident. In fact, the truth is that after this incident, the desire to achieve freedom started surging even more strongly in the people. Although the present means of communication and mutual dialogue could not even be imagined in those days, yet this news spread like wildfire in the entire country. The desire for freedom started to speak in the minds of not only Punjab but every child of the entire country. Thousands of Indians of that time took a firm resolve to free the country by applying the soil of Jallianwala Bagh to their foreheads. Punjab used to be somewhat separate from main India till then, but due to this incident, Punjab completely joined the Indian freedom movement. As a result, Gandhi started the non-cooperation movement in 1920.

Backlash

Udham Singh was present at the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and was shot. He decided to take revenge. On 13 March 1940, he shot dead British Lieutenant Governor Michael O'Dwyer at Caxton Hall in London. Udham Singh was hanged on 31 July 1940. Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru condemned the murder.

This massacre had a deep impact on Bhagat Singh , who was then 12 years old . On receiving the news, Bhagat Singh walked 12 miles from his school to reach Jallianwala Bagh.

Memorial

A trust was established to build a memorial at the site after a resolution was passed by the Indian National Congress in 1920. In 1923 the trust purchased land for the memorial project. A memorial, designed by American architect Benjamin Polk, was built at the site and inaugurated by then President of India Rajendra Prasad on 13 April 1961 in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders .

Bullet holes are still visible in the walls and surrounding buildings. The well into which many people jumped trying to save themselves from the bullets is a protected monument inside the park.

Indian independence movement | Background and Rise of organized movements.

 

The Indian independence movement was a series of various activities and events whose ultimate goal was to end British rule in India. Although the revolt of 1857 is called the 'First War of Independence', the Indian independence movement had begun in sporadic ways much before that. It continued not only till 1947 but also till the liberation of Goa.

The first nationalist revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. It later took root in the newly formed Indian National Congress , with prominent moderate leaders demanding the right to sit for the Indian civil service examinations in British India as well as greater economic rights for the natives. The first half of the 20th century saw a more revolutionary approach to self-rule.

The phases of the freedom struggle in the 1920s were characterised by the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and the adoption of Gandhi's policy of non-violence and civil disobedience by the Congress. Some of the prominent followers of Gandhi's ideology were Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose , Vallabhbhai Patel , Abdul Ghaffar Khan , Maulana Azad and others. Intellectuals such as Rabindranath Tagore , Subrahmanya Bharati and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee spread patriotic awareness. Women leaders such as Sarojini Naidu , Vijayalakshmi Pandit , Pritilata Waddedar and Kasturba Gandhi promoted the emancipation of Indian women and their participation in the freedom struggle.

Some leaders adopted a more violent approach, which became especially popular after the Rowlatt Act, which allowed indefinite detention. The act sparked protests across India, especially in the Punjab province, where they were violently suppressed in the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre .

The Indian independence movement was in constant ideological evolution. Essentially anti-colonial, it was complemented by a vision of independent, economic development with a secular, democratic, republican and civil libertarian political structure. After the 1930s, the movement acquired a strong socialist orientation. It culminated in the Indian Independence Act 1947, which ended Crown suzerainty and divided the British Raj into the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan.

India remained a dominion until 26 January 1950 , when the Constitution of India established the Republic of India . Pakistan remained a dominion until 1956, when it adopted its first constitution. In 1971, East Pakistan declared its independence as Bangladesh.

Background

Early British Colonialism in India

The first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean was the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama , who arrived in Calicut in 1498 in search of spices. Just a century later, the Dutch and the British established trading posts on the Indian subcontinent , with the first English trading post being established at Surat in 1613.

Over the next two centuries, the British defeated the Portuguese and the Dutch, but remained in conflict with the French. The decline of the Mughal Empire in the first half of the eighteenth century allowed the British to gain a foothold in Indian politics. During the Battle of Plassey, the East India Company 's forces defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal , and the company established itself as a major player in Indian affairs. After the Battle of Buxar of 1764, it acquired administrative authority over Bengal , Bihar , and the Midnapore part of Orissa .

After the defeat of Tipu Sultan , most of southern India came either under the direct rule of the Company, or under the indirect political control of its subsidiary alliances . The Company later annexed regions ruled by the Maratha Empire after defeating them in a series of wars. Much of the Punjab was annexed in 1849, following the defeat of Sikh forces in the First (1845-1846) and Second (1848-1849) Anglo-Sikh Wars .

Initial rebellion

Veera Azhagu Muthu Konne was an early rebel against the British presence in Tamil Nadu. He became a military leader in the town of Ettayapuram and was defeated in a battle against the British and Maruthanayagam Is forces. He was hanged in 1757. Puli Thevar opposed the Nawab of Arcot , who was supported by the British. Maruthanayagam Pillai was the Commandant of the Madras Army of the British East India Company , and was made the ruler of Madurai . The British and the Arcot Nawab appointed him to suppress the Polygar (aka Palayakkarar) rebellion in South India. Later he was entrusted with the administration of the Madurai country when the Madurai Nayak rule ended. He later rebelled against the British and the Arcot Nawab. Disputes arose with the British and the Arcot Nawab and three of Khan's associates were bribed to capture him. He was captured during his morning prayers (Thozhugai) and hanged at Sammatipuram near Madurai on 15 October 1764.

In eastern India and across the country, indigenous communities organised a number of rebellions against the British and their collaborators, especially the zamindars and moneylenders. After the East India Company received the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa after the Battle of Bastar in 1764, a number of rebellions broke out. One of the earliest of these on record was led by Jagannath Singh , Subal Singh and Shyam Gunjam in Bengal ( Jharkhand and West Bengal ) against the East India Company around 1766. Bishnu Manaki took up arms in 1771. The Rangpur Rebellion occurred in nearby Rangpur in Bengal from 1782 to 1783. Following Bishnu Manakils rebellion in Jharkhand, a number of rebellions broke out across the region, including the Bhumij rebellion of Manbhum from 1798 to 1799; The Chero rebellion of Palamu led by Bhukhan Singh in 1800, and two rebellions of the Munda community in the Tamar region , led by Dukhan Manaki during 1807, and at Bundu and Konta in 1819-1820. The Ho rebellion occurred when the Ho community first came into contact with the British near Chaibasa on the Roro river in West Singhbhum from 1820 to 1821, but were defeated by the technologically advanced colonial cavalry. A major Bhumij rebellion took place in the Jangal Mahals of Bengal under the leadership of Ganga Narayan Singh , who had earlier also co-led the Chuad rebellion in these areas from 1771 to 1809. Syed Mir Nisar Ali Titumir was an Islamic preacher who led peasant revolts against the Hindu landlords and the British in Bengal during the 19th century. With his followers, he built a bamboo fort at Narkelberia village, which gained a prominent place in Bengali folklore. After the fort was attacked by British troops, Titumir died of his wounds on 19 November 1831. These rebellions led to major regional movements in Jharkhand and beyond, such as the KOI Rebellion led by Singhrai and Bindrai Manaki , where the KOI ( Ho , Bhumij , Munda and Oraon ) communities united to revolt against "outsiders" from 1830-1833.

The Santhal Hool was a movement of the Santhals that lasted from 1855 to 1857 and was led most notably by two brothers Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu from the Santhal clan. These are the most intense years leading up to the revolt of 1857. More than 100 years of such rising rebellions prepared the ground for a large, influential, millenarian movement in eastern India, which shook the foundations of British rule in the region again, under the leadership of Birsa Munda . Birsa Munda belonged to the Munda community and led thousands of people from the Munda , Oraon and Kharia communities in an "ulgulan" (rebellion, movement) against British political expansion and forced conversion of indigenous people to Christianity, and against the displacement of indigenous people from their lands. To ease these growing tensions, which were getting out of control of the British, they began aggressively searching for Birsa Munda, even setting up a bounty for him. They brutally attacked the Dombari Hills between January 7-9, 1900, where Birsa had repaired a water tank and set up his revolutionary headquarters, killing at least 400 Munda warriors. Birsa was eventually captured in the Jamkopai forest of Singhbhum and murdered by the British in prison in 1900, with his funeral being conducted hastily to suppress the movement.

The company faced the strongest resistance from Mysore . The Anglo-Mysore Wars were a series of wars fought in the last three decades of the 18th century between the Kingdom of Mysore on one side and the British East India Company (represented mainly by the Madras Presidency), the Maratha Empire and the Nizam of Hyderabad on the other . Hyder Ali and his successor Tipu Sultan fought the war on four fronts, with the British attacking from the west, south and east, while the Marathas and the Nizam Is forces attacked from the north. The fourth war resulted in the overthrow of the house of Hyder Ali and Tipu (who was killed in the final war in 1799), and the destruction of Mysore to the benefit of the East India Company , which won and gained control of most of India. Pazhassi Raja was the prince of the principality of Kottayam in North Malabar , near Kannur , India, between 1774 and 1805. He fought a guerrilla war with the tribal people of Wayanad in his support . He was captured by the British and his fort was demolished.

In 1766 the Nizam of Hyderabad transferred the Northern Government to British authority. Jagannath Gajapati Narayan Deva II, the independent king of the Paralakhemundi estate situated in present-day Odisha and the northernmost region of the then political division, had been continuously rebelling against the French occupiers since 1753, as the Nizam had earlier handed over his estate to them on the same ground. Narayan Deva II fought the British at Jelamur Fort on 4 April 1768 and was defeated due to the superior firepower of the British. He fled to the tribal interiors of his estate and continued his efforts against the British till his natural death on 5 December 1771.

Rani Velu Nachiyar (1730-1796), was the queen of Sivaganga from 1760 to 1790. Rani Nachiyar was trained in the use of war weapons, fighting styles such as Valari, Silambam (fighting using a stick), horse riding and archery. She was a scholar of many languages and had proficiency in languages such as French, English and Urdu. When her husband, Muthuvaduganathaperiya Udayathevar, was killed in a battle with British troops and the army of the Nawab of Arcot , she was inducted into the army. She formed an army and sought an alliance with Gopala Nayakar and Hyder Ali for the purpose of attacking the British , whom she successfully challenged in 1780. When the list of the British was discovered, she is said to have arranged a suicide attack by a loyal follower Kuyili sprinkled oil on herself and went to the storehouse, setting herself on fire. The queen formed a women's army called "Udaiyal" in honor of her adopted daughter who had died in an explosion at a British armory. Rani Nachiyar was one of the few rulers who regained her kingdom and ruled it for a decade.

Veerapandya Kattabomman was an eighteenth-century Polygar and chieftain of Panchalankurichi, Tamil Nadu, India, who waged the Polygar Wars against the East India Company . He was captured by the British and hanged in 1799 AD. Kattabomman refused to accept the sovereignty of the East India Company and fought against them. Dheeran Chinnamalai was a Kongu Nadu chieftain and Palayakkarar from Tamil Nadu who fought against the East India Company. After the death of Kattabomman and Tipu Sultan, Chinnamalai sought the help of the Marathas and Maruthu Pandiyars to attack the British in Coimbatore in 1800. The British forces managed to fend off the allies' forces, forcing Chinnamalai to attack Coimbatore alone. His army was defeated and he escaped from the British forces. Chinnamalai took part in guerrilla warfare and defeated the British in battles at Cauvery in 1801 , Odanilai in 1802, and Arachalur in 1804.

In 1804, the king of Khordha , Kalinga was deprived of his traditional rights to the Jagannath temple . In retaliation, a group of armed Paiks attacked the British at Pipli. Jayee Rajguru , the head of Kalinga's army, requested a general alliance against the British. After Rajguruls death, Buxi Jagabandhu launched an armed rebellion against the East India Company's rule in Odisha. This is now known as the Paik Rebellion.

Revolt of 1857

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in northern and central India against the East India Company. The conditions of service in the company's army and cantonments came increasingly into conflict with the religious beliefs and prejudices of the sepoys . Discontent grew due to the predominance of higher caste members in the army, the alleged loss of caste due to deployment overseas, and rumours of secret government plans to convert them to Christianity. The sepoys were also frustrated by their low pay and racial discrimination by British officers in matters of promotion and privileges.

The British indifference towards the native Indian rulers and the occupation of Awadh fuelled discontent. The Marquess of Lord Dalhousie Is policy of annexation, annexation and the plan to dislodge the Mughals from their ancestral palace at the Red Fort also aroused popular anger.

The final spark was provided by the rumoured use of cow and pig fat in the newly introduced Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle cartridges. Soldiers had to bite the cartridges with their teeth before loading them into their rifles, thereby eating the fat. This was considered sacrilegious to both Hindus and Muslims.

Mangal Pandey was a soldier who played a key role in the events just before the Indian Rebellion of 1857. His defiance of his British superiors and his subsequent execution ignited the fire of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

On 10 May 1857, the sepoys in Meerut broke ranks and attacked their commanding officers, killing some of them. They reached Delhi on 11 May , set fire to the company's toll house and marched to the Red Fort, where they asked the Mughal emperor , Bahadur Shah II, to become their leader and reclaim his throne. The emperor eventually agreed and was proclaimed "Shahenshah-e-HindustanII by the rebels. The rebels also murdered most of the city's European, Eurasian and Christian population, including natives who had converted to Christianity.

Rebellions also broke out in other parts of Awadh and the North-Western Provinces, where civil uprisings followed, leading to popular rebellion. Initially the British were not cautious and were thus slow to react, but eventually responded with force. The rebellion fizzled out due to the lack of effective organisation among the rebels and the military superiority of the British. The British fought the rebels' main army near Delhi, and after a long battle and siege, defeated them and recaptured the city on 20 September 1857. Subsequently, rebellions in other centres were also suppressed. The last significant battle was fought at Gwalior on 17 June 1858, during which Rani Lakshmibai was killed. Sporadic fighting and guerrilla warfare led by Tatya Tope continued until the spring of 1859, but eventually most of the rebels were suppressed.

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a turning point. Confirming the military and political power of the British, it led to a significant change in the way they controlled India. Under the Government of India Act 1858 the East India Company's territory was transferred to the British government. At the top of the new system was a minister, the Secretary of State for India, who was to be formally advised by a statutory council; the Governor-General of India (Viceroy) was made answerable to him, while he in turn was answerable to the government.

In a royal proclamation made to the people of India, Queen Victoria promised equal opportunity for public service under British law, and also promised to respect the rights of native princes. The British stopped the policy of taking away land from the kings, ordered religious tolerance and began admitting Indians into the civil service. However, they also increased the number of British troops compared to native Indians and allowed only British soldiers to handle artillery. Bahadur Shah II was exiled to Rangoon where he died in 1862.

In 1876, British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli declared Queen Victoria Empress of India. British liberals objected because the title was foreign to British traditions.

Rise of organized movements

The decades following the revolt were a period of growing political awareness, expression of Indian public opinion, and the emergence of Indian leadership at both the national and provincial levels. Dadabhai Naoroji formed the East India Association in 1866 and Surendranath Banerjee founded the Indian National Association in 1876. Inspired by the suggestion of A.O. Hume , a retired Scottish civil servant, seventy-two Indian delegates met in Bombay in 1885 and founded the Indian National Congress . They were mostly members of the progressive and successful Western-educated provincial elite, engaged in professions such as law, teaching, and journalism. At its inception, the Congress had no well-defined ideology and had little control over the resources necessary for a political organization. Instead, it functioned more as a debating society that met annually to express its loyalty to the British and passed a number of resolutions on less controversial issues such as civil rights or opportunities in government (especially in the civil service). These proposals were submitted to the Indian government and sometimes to the British Parliament, but the initial gains made by the Congress were modest. "Despite its claim to represent the whole of India, the Congress voiced the interests of the urban elite; the number of participants from other social and economic backgrounds remained negligible." However, this period of history is still significant because it represents the first political mobilization of Indians coming from all parts of the subcontinent and the first articulation of the idea of India as a nation rather than a collection of independent princely states.

Religious groups played a role in the reform of Indian society. These ranged from Hindu groups such as the Arya Samaj , Brahmo Samaj and many other religions to the Namdhari (or Kuka ) sect of Sikhism. The work of men such as Swami Vivekananda , Ramakrishna , Aurobindo Ghosh , V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Subramania Bharati , Bankim Chandra Chatterjee , Rabindranath Tagore and Dadabhai Naoroji, as well as women such as the Scots-Irish Sister Nivedita, spread the passion for independence. The rediscovery of India's indigenous history by many European and Indian scholars also fuelled the rise of nationalism among Indians. The trio, also known as Lal-Bal-Pal ( Bal Gangadhar Tilak , Bipin Chandra Pal , Lala Lajpat Rai ), also known as V. O. Chidambaram Pillai , Aurobindo Ghosh , Surendranath Banerjee and Rabindranath Tagore, were some of the prominent leaders of the movements. The Swadeshi movement was most successful in the beginning of the 20th century. Lokmanya Is name started spreading everywhere and people started following him in all parts of the country.

The Indian textile industry also played a vital role in India's freedom struggle. The goods of the textile industry led to the industrial revolution in India and soon England began producing cotton cloth in such a large quantity that the domestic market became saturated, and the products had to be sold in foreign markets.

On the other hand, India was rich in cotton production and was in a position to supply the required raw material to the British mills. This was the time when India was under British rule and the East India Company had established its roots in India. Raw material was exported to England at very low rates while refined quality cotton cloth was imported to India and sold at very high prices. This was ruining the economy of India, causing great losses to the textile industry of India. This caused great resentment among the farmers and traders who cultivated cotton.

After the announcement of the partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon in 1905, the people of Bengal protested fiercely. Initially the partition plan was opposed through press campaigns. The complete adherence to such techniques led to the boycott of British goods and the people of India pledged to use only Swadeshi or Indian goods and wear only Indian clothes. Imported textiles were looked upon with hatred. In many places, foreign clothes were publicly burnt. Shops selling foreign cloth were closed down. The cotton textile industry has been described as Swadeshi industry. This period saw the growth of Swadeshi textile mills. Swadeshi factories came into existence everywhere.

According to Surendranath Banerjee , the Swadeshi movement changed the whole structure of Indian social and domestic life. Songs composed by Rabindranath Tagore, Rajnikant Sen and Syed Abu Mohammad became the inspiring spirit for the nationalists. The movement soon spread to the rest of the country and forced the partition of Bengal on April 1, 1912.

Mangal Pandey - The Indian Soldier | Early life, Mutiny and Consequences

Mangal Pandey (died 8 April 1857) was an Indian soldier who played a key role in the events that led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , which resulted in the dissolution of the East India Company and the beginning of the British Raj through the Government of India Act 1858 . He was a sepoy in the 34th Regiment of the Bengal Native Infantry . In 1984, the Republic of India issued a postage stamp in his memory. His life and actions have also been portrayed in several Indian cinematic productions.

Early life

Mangal Pandey was born into a Brahmin family from Nagwa , a village of upper Ballia district , Ceded and Conquered Provinces (now in Uttar Pradesh ). Pandey had joined the Bengal Army in 1849. In March 1857, he was a private soldier (sepoy) in the 5th Company of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry.

Mutiny

On the afternoon of 29 March 1857, Lieutenant Baugh, Adjutant of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry, then stationed at Barrackpore was informed that several men of his regiment were in an excited state. Further, it was reported to him that one of them, Mangal Pandey, was pacing in front of the regiment's guard room by the parade ground, armed with a loaded musket , calling upon the men to rebel and threatening to shoot the first European that he set eyes on. Testimony at a subsequent inquiry recorded that Pandey, unsettled by unrest amongst the sepoys and intoxicated by the narcotic bhang , had seized his weapons and ran to the quarter guard building upon learning that a detachment of British soldiers was disembarking from a steamer near the cantonment.

Baugh immediately armed himself and galloped on his horse to the lines. Pandey took position behind the station gun, which was in front of the quarter-guard of the 34th, took aim at Baugh and fired. He missed Baugh, but the bullet struck his horse in the flank bringing both the horse and its rider down. Baugh quickly disentangled himself and, seizing one of his pistols, advanced towards Pandey and fired. He missed. Before Baugh could draw his sword, Pandey attacked him with a talwar (a heavy Indian sword) and closing with the adjutant, slashed Baugh on the shoulder and neck and brought him to the ground. It was then that another sepoy, Shaikh Paltu , intervened and tried to restrain Pandey even as he began to reload his musket.

A British Sergeant-Major named Hewson had arrived on the parade ground before Baugh, summoned by an Indian naik (corporal). Hewson had ordered Jemadar Ishwari Prasad, the Indian officer in command of the quarter-guard, to arrest Pandey. To this, the jemadar stated that his NCOs had gone for help and that he could not take Pandey by himself. In response Hewson ordered Ishwari Prasad to fall into the guard with loaded weapons. In the meanwhile, Baugh had arrived on the field shouting 'Where is he? Where is he? Hewson in reply called out to Baugh, 'Ride to the right, sir, for your life. The soldier will fire at you!' At that point Pandey fired.

Hewson had charged towards Pandey as he was fighting with Lieutenant Baugh. While confronting Pandey, Hewson was knocked to the ground from behind by a blow from Pandey's musket. The sound of the firing had brought other sepoys from the barracks; they remained mute spectators. At this juncture, Shaikh Paltu, while trying to defend the two Englishmen called upon the other sepoys to assist him. Assailed by sepoys who threw stones and shoes at his back, Shaikh Paltu called on the guard to help him hold Pandey, but they threatened to shoot him if he did not let go of the mutineer.

Some of the sepoys of the quarter-guard then advanced and struck at the two prostrate officers. They then threatened Shaikh Paltu and ordered him to release Pandey, whom he had been vainly trying to hold back. However, Paltu continued to hold Pandey until Baugh and the sergeant-major were able to get up. Himself wounded by now, Paltu was obliged to loosen his grip. He backed away in one direction and Baugh and Hewson in another, while being struck with the butt ends of the guards' muskets.

Intervention of General Hearsey

In the meantime, a report of the incident had been carried to the commanding officer of the garrison Major-General John Bennet Hearsey, who then galloped to the quarter-guard with his two officer sons. It was now late afternoon and off-duty sepoys from the 43rd BNI, another regiment forming part of the Barrackpore brigade, had joined the crowd on the parade ground. While all were unarmed, Hearsey saw the possibility of general mutiny and sent orders to British troops to assemble at the Governor-Generalls residence .

Taking in the chaotic scene at the bell-of-arms ( arsenal ) of the 34th BNI, Hearsey then rode up to the guard, drew his pistol and ordered them to do their duty by seizing Mangal Pandey. The General threatened to shoot the first man who disobeyed. The men of the quarter-guard fell in and followed Hearsey towards Pandey. Pandey then put the muzzle of the musket to his chest and discharged it by pressing the trigger with his foot. He collapsed bleeding, with his regimental jacket on fire, but not mortally wounded.

With British and Indian officers now in control of the situation Mangal Pandey, "shivering and convulsed", was taken to the regimental hospital for treatment under guard.

Execution

Pandey recovered and was brought to trial less than a week later. When asked whether he had been under the influence of any substances, he stated steadfastly that he had mutinied on his own accord and that no other person had played any part in encouraging him. He was sentenced to death by hanging , along with Jemadar Ishwari Prasad, after three Sikh members of the quarter-guard testified that the latter had ordered them not to arrest Pandey.

Mangal Pandey's execution took place on 8 April 1857, before all of the Indian and British units stationed in Barrackpore. The Delhi Gazette of 18 April described the hanging in some detail, stating that Pandey had refused to make any disclosures and that the occasion "had a most disheartening effect upon the sepoy regiments upon the ground".

Jemadar Ishwari Prasad was separately executed by hanging on 21 April. In contrast to the silent Mangal Pandey, the jemadar expressed regret for his actions and urged the sepoys present to obey their officers in future.

Aftermath

The seven (out of ten) companies of the 34th BNI Regiment stationed at Barrackpore on 29 March were disbanded "with disgrace" on 6 May as a collective punishment after an investigation by the government: for failing to perform their duty in restraining a mutinous soldier and in assisting their officers. That came after a period of six weeks while petitions for leniency were examined in Calcutta. Sepoy Shaikh Paltu was promoted to havildar (sergeant) and decorated with the Indian Order of Merit for his behavior on 29 March, but he was murdered in an isolated part of the Barrackpore cantonment shortly before most of the regiment was discharged.

The Indian historian Surendra Nath Sen notes that the 34th BNI had a good recent record and that the Court of Inquiry had not found any evidence of a connection with unrest at Berhampore involving the 19th BNI four weeks before (see below). However, Mangal Pandey's actions and the failure of the armed and on-duty sepoys of the quarter-guard to take action convinced the British military authorities that the whole regiment was unreliable. It appeared that Pandey had acted without first taking other sepoys into his confidence but that antipathy towards their British officers within the regiment had led most of those present to act as spectators, rather than obey orders.

Motives

The personal motivation behind Mangal Pandey's behavior remains confused. During the incident itself he shouted to other sepoys: "come Out- the Europeans are here"; "from biting these cartridges we shall become infidels" and "you sent me out here, why don't you follow me". At his court-martial, he stated that he had been taking bhang and opium, and was not conscious of his actions on 29 March.

There were a wide range of factors causing apprehension and mistrust in the Bengal Army immediately prior to the Barrackpore event. Pandey's reference to cartridges is usually attributed to a new type of bullet cartridge used in the Enfield P-53 rifle which was to be introduced in the Bengal Army that year. The cartridge was thought to be greased with animal fat, primarily from cows and pigs, which could not be consumed by Hindus and Muslims respectively (the former a holy animal of the Hindus and the latter being abhorrent to Muslims). The cartridges had to be bitten at one end before use. The Indian troops in some regiments were of the opinion that this was an intentional act of the British, with the aim of defiling their religions.

Colonel S. Wheeler of the 34th BNI was known as a zealous Christian preacher. The wife of Captain William Halliday of the 56th BNI had the Bible printed in Urdu and Hindi and distributed among the sepoys, thus raising suspicions amongst them that the British were intent on converting them to Christianity.

The 19th and 34th Bengal Native Infantry were stationed at Lucknow during the time of the annexation of Oudh in 1856 because of alleged misgovernment by the Nawab. The annexation had negative implications for sepoys in the Bengal Army (a significant portion of whom came from that princely state). Before the annexation, these sepoys had the right to petition the British Resident at Lucknow for justice- a significant privilege in the context of native courts. As a result of the East India Company's action, they lost that special status, since Oudh no longer existed as a nominally independent political entity.

The 19th BNI is important because it was the regiment charged with testing the new cartridges on 26 February 1857. However, right up to the mutiny the new rifles had not been issued to them, and the cartridges in the magazine of the regiment were as free of grease as they had been through the preceding half-century. The paper used in wrapping the cartridges was of a different colour, arousing suspicions. The non-commissioned officers of the regiment refused to accept the cartridges on 26 February. This information was conveyed to the commanding officer, Colonel William Mitchell; he took it upon himself to try to convince the sepoys that the cartridges were no different from those they had been accustomed to and that they need not bite it. He concluded his exhortation with an appeal to the native officers to uphold the honor of the regiment and a threat to court-martial such sepoys as refused to accept the cartridge. However, the next morning the sepoys of the regiment seized their bell of arms (weapons store). The subsequent conciliatory behavior of Mitchell convinced the sepoys to return to their barracks.

Court of Inquiry

A Court of Inquiry was ordered which, after an investigation which lasted nearly a month, recommended the disbanding of the 19th BNI. The same was carried out on 31 March. The discharged sepoys of the 19th BNI were allowed to retain items of their uniform and were provided by the government with allowances to return to their homes. Both Colonel Mitchell of the 19th BNI and (subsequent to the incident of 29 March) Colonel Wheeler of Pandey's 34th BNI were declared unsuited to take charge of any new regiments raised to replace the disbanded units.

Consequences

The attack by and punishment of Pandey is widely seen as the opening scene of what came to be known as the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Knowledge of his action was widespread amongst his fellow sepoys and is assumed to have been one of the factors leading to the general series of mutinies that broke out during the following months. Mangal Pandey would prove to be influential for later figures in the Indian Nationalist Movement like VD Savarkar, who viewed his motive as one of the earliest manifestations of Indian Nationalism. Modern Indian nationalists portray Pandey as the mastermind behind a conspiracy to revolt against the British, although a recently published analysis of events immediately preceding the outbreak concludes that "there is little historical evidence to back up any of these revisionist interpretations".

During the rebellion that followed, Pandee or Pandey became the derogatory term used by British soldiers and civilians when referring to a mutinous sepoy. This was a direct derivation from the name of Mangal Pandey.