India and FWW Impacts Flashcards
Indian Nationalism (INC)
Indian National Congress (INC):
Radical/extreme demands
Demand Dominion Status
Dictated demands to British
Prepared to accept British monarch ion their terms- all power to Indians
Demanded right to assemble (after events of Amritsar)
All India Muslim League
Expressed loyalty to British Raj- even promoted
Prevention of violence to other communities- peaceful
Sought to advance political rights of Muslims
Defence of India Act (DoIA)
Criminal law enacted by Governor-General in 1915 curbing nationalist activity during and after WW1
Granted Executive wider powers of detention without trial, written, speech and movement
Widespread and discriminative made it deeply unpopular and became reviled in India
Extension of DoIA was the Rowlett Acts after WW1 opposed by Indian members of Viceroy council
Viceroys 1920s
Samuel Montagu- SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIAN 1917-1922
Lord Chelmsford- LORD CHELMSFORD 1916-1921
Montagu Declaration 1917
Could not ignore contribution of India to WW1 effort/right to self determination that were part of democracy
Concerned about the growth of nationalism after Lucknow Pact 1916 (unification of Muslims/Hindus for idea of dyarchy)
Could not dismantle Raj after effects of WW1
Montagu Declaration a compromise that granted some form of self government- no time frame given
Government of India Act 1919
Montagu investigation led to Montagu-Chelmsford Report July 1918 and became law 1919
Montagu-Chelmsford Report divided power in provinces, between Indian and British. Called ‘dyarchy’ and remained till 1935.
Extension of Morley-Minto Act* look to bottom of card* from 10 years before as Provincial Council grown
Allowed a franchise for approx. 10% of native population- wealthy/educated and paid taxes, 1% women eligible to vote
Former soldiers permitted to vote
Morley-Minto Act (Indian Councils Act, act of appeasement to nationalists, separate electorates for Hindus/Muslims. 60 Indian representatives elected to serve on Executive council at provincial level had power)
The Rowlatt Acts 1919
Global recession after war/Spanish flu caused crisis in Raj
Crop failure and famine made situation worse=unrest and riots
Raj responded by repressing the Indian people= Rowlatt Acts
Rowlatt Commission published report and isolated Bengal/Punjab as centre of revolutionist activity and recommended war time control (Defence of India Act 1915)
Could be imprisoned without trial, held indefinitely, be convicted by a court/no jury
=unpopular got rid of quickly due to damage of them
Reactions to Rowlatt Acts
Opposition
Hartals (strikes) organised 30th March 1919- 6th April, arrest of 2 protestors caused rioting
3 Europeans killed
Marcia Sherwood brutally beaten saved by Hindus who treated her
British lost control of Amritsar
Governor O’Dwyer= convinced rioting in Amritsar coordinated uprising and might lead to mutiny
Over-reacted and sent troops to Amritsar and General Reginald Dyer to end rioting
Amritsar Massacre
Dyer ordered message to be sent warning against all holding of ‘meetings and assemblies’ and a city wide curfew
Amritsar also holy city for Sikh religion
Sunday 13th April Baisakhi Day came to city to gather in Bagh Park behind Sikh temple.
5000-20,000 gathered in Jallianwala Bagh to listen to speeches
Dyer arrived with troops and opened fire on crowd killing 379 people and more died of wounds
British Perspective of Amritsar
Applied ‘Carrot and Stick’ during WW1 to obtain Indian support
‘Carrot’ dominion status and ‘Stick’ was Rowlatt Acts- end protests of Indian Nationalists
Dyer said later ‘I was going to punish them’
Dyer sent back to England after massacre and faced an inquiry- found to be extreme in actions but was generally ‘mild approval.’
Indian Nationalist Perspective
Indian Nationalists sought to end British rule, immediately intent on ending harshness of Rowlatt Acts- Amritsar changed everything
Gandhi after announced no longer believed in British and had a ‘moral right’ to rule India, starting a campaign of ‘non cooperation’ (Satyagraha- non violent, non cooperation)
Massacre’s made nationalism hugely popular- INC membership increased from 100,000 1918- 2 million 1921
Muslim,/Hindus became temporarily united in INC in order to rid India of British
Perspectives of Neutrals
Woodrow Wilson condemned both Dyer and British response to it
USA had self determination and declared colonies have right to decide future
European response muted. France had an empire and equally harsh
Former Prime Minister Herbert Asquith claimed Amritsar to be ‘one of the worst outrages’ in Brit history
Rudyard Kipling believed Dyer saved India
2013 David Cameron declared massacre to be a ‘deeply shameful event, that Britain need not apologize for’
Hunter Commission
Blamed Dyer for not issuing a warning before opening fire on people. Committed a grave error for firing so long for the desire to produce moral effect, and mistaken conception of duty.
Dyer relieved of his command, left India 2 months later had a stroke in November 1921 and died July 1927. Massacre led to his demise
Martial Law after Amritsar
14 April: Ordinance no.1 issued by Viceroy Chelmsford
15 April: Martial Law in Amritsar, Lahore
19 April: Dyer issued Crawling Order- 852 people arrested of ‘waging war against the King Emperor’ and ‘sentenced accordingly’
Curfews most of Punjab and people flogged, travel restricted and vehicles commandeered
Students punished for trivial offences such as tearing posters down from walls
*Crawling Order- Directly after Amritsar, Indians who wished to pass along the narrow street Marcia Sherwood beaten had to crawl on all fours, saw this as suitable to crime
Legacy of Amritsar
Gandhi called a Satyagraha in April 1919
Hartal was the best form of non violent action but not very effective
Violent protests did end up erupting due to impatience, British new governed India only due to consent of Indian people
End of 1919 Amritsar and aftermath had turned thousands of loyal Indians against Raj
