8 April, 1919
Exactly One Hundred years ago this day...

Gandhi boarded a train for his first visit to Punjab via Delhi.

But before he could even reach Delhi, Gandhi was arrested by the Brits who served him prohibitory orders from entering either Delhi or Punjab.

1/10

But before I go forward, let’s move backwards in time:

Gandhi had just launched nation wide Satyagraha campaign against recently passed Rowlatt bill (this needs another thread) on 6 April 1919 at Chowpatty Beach, Bombay, which spread like wildfire to many parts of India.

2/10

Among all those places where the hartal was a resounding success, there was also the city of Amritsar in Punjab.

3/10

Now comes the crux of the story:

The credit for the success of that hartal goes to the collective efforts of two leading members of INC from the city: One Hindu & One Muslim: Dr. Satyapal, a surgeon & Saifuddin Kitchlew, a Cambridge educated barrister.

4/10

Together they ensured that Hindus & Muslims of the city rallied together & made non-violent call to protest a success. Thanks to the leadership of the duo, Amritsar reported a near total bandh on 6 April, 1919.

5/10

Now, we may know all these facts. But the thing that struck me the most is how British administrators panicked seeing the kind of solidarity between the two communities.

6/10

Ian Colvin observed in ‘The Life of General Dyer’ (1929): The spectacle of Hindus & Muslims drinking out of the same water vessels at Amritsar was not only worrisome but also a breach of caste...STRANGE, OMINOUS & UNPRECEDENTED.

7/10

DC Amritsar was so alarmed by this united front of Hindus & Muslims that he wrote in panic to the commissioner in Lahore on April 8, 1919:A really strong force will have to be brought in which should be ready to take things to their conclusion to see who governs Amritsar.

8/10

This was the background of the reason which made Gandhi board the train to Punjab...unfortunately the journey that he could not complete.

9/10

The brits knew how potent this unity between Hindus & Muslims was.

So the question I want to ask is that why even after one hundred years, the powers that be are behaving like imperialist forces trying to create a wedge between the two?!

10/10