Massacre in Amristar

I stumbled on a diary
That had records of history
On the preface it read
"History is not just full of bravado
If yes it would be dull
But of sentiments and emotion-packed sequences
No better film would match it
It equals itself"

The year was 1919
- the place Amristar
The day was unusually hotter than any day
Maybe that was a prelude to what's going to happen
To make things worse it happened on a day
That was considered unlucky by many
It was the 13th of April, 1919
A black day in the history of India
one thousand five hundred and twenty six
Men, women and children were mercilessly killed
By the order of one called Reginald Dyer
- the Brigadier General
And there was another man
- Sir Michael O'Dwyer, British Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab,
Supported his action

Three days back
A demonstration against the arrest of two leaders
Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew
Terrified the British Administration of Punjab
They had dreams of 1857 dangling before them
Adding fuel to the fire
Some men that took part in protest were killed
The crowd retaliated killing some five Europeans
And the military killed some twenty
Well, this could have been deemed a score settled
Though twenty was anyway more than five
At least in mathematics

Cometh the 13th, cometh the trouble
For the celebrations of Baisakhi
Sikhs from all parts of the nation
Assembled in Jallianwala Bagh
General Dyer had hallucinations
Both auditory and visual
Defeat dangled before his eyes
And he heard people laughing at him
He did not want to be a laughing stock
But wanted to take stock of the situation
And so he ordered that people be killed
Be shot even if they were flat on the ground
Show mercy to not even women and children
Was all that he said to his Gurkhas
He closed all entrances and exits
One thousand four hundred bullets
Ripped the chest of Mother India
Leaving more than equal number of people dead


The world stood stunned
Even the British Raj condemned it
But Dyer had support from O'Dwyer
And a few newspapers in England supported his action
Dyer's face reminds me of The Tiger and the Lamb of Blake
He was from a school of discipline
And always hated Indians for their chaotic life
As a Brit he was a chivalrous man
He respected women but European

There was an incident
That caused Dyer to have sleepless nights
For a couple of days before he turned insane
Miss Marcella Sherwood
- supervisor of Mission Day School for Girls
Was assaulted by a group
But then came the helping hands of other Indians
That rescued her from the mob
And she was led to safety

This one incident fumed the insolent mind of Dyer
How could they insult a woman?
It needs retribution
So determined was Dyer that he set his mind
To avenge the insult done to Miss Sherwood
He set an order that the place
Where Sherwood was assaulted
Be made sacred
And all that who want to pass that way
Had to crawl on all fours
A humiliation that he imposed
Showcase his mind that he considered Indians mere animals
This is the same place
where people assembled for their festival
And an irked Dyer ordered the shooting

All is well
Back in England he was honored
"the Saviour of the Punjab with sword of honour and a purse"
Two years after his heroics
His past haunted him
Dyer became paralyzed
And lived for another six years
Never recovering from it
Surely the Lord lives

The man who said Dyer's action was correct
- O'Dwyer was Shot in 1940
By one who was wounded physically and mentally
In the massacre of Amristar in Caxton Hall
Though Udham Singh, the bravo was hanged
Was called a martyr by Nehru and attained martyrdom
History will call it
A tale of doom and death
of Dyer and O'Dwyer