KHOONI VAISAKHI (book review)

A Punjabi poem about the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre 1919

Before giving a review of this book I will give the basic information of what was the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre of 1919.

One of the Atrocities committed by the British Raj in Bharath

Contrary to the so-called claims of the left-winged and the Communal people that the British Raj has given a generous amount of gifts to Bharath. Bharath has lost approximately more than 35 million citizens to Massacres, Man-made famines, destructive laws, and many more.

Unfortunatly one of them was the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre which was so monstrous in nature that the British Raj themselves could not crush the incident which they usually did. Politically speaking there were various factors that led to this massacre. The 4 years long World War I inflicted a terrible human cost on Indian soldiers who were sent to die fighting a war that wasn’t theirs and the 1915 Plague took a toll on the lives of Indians. This was followed by the Black Act (The Rowlatt Act) which allowed the government to continue with emergency measures enacted in the wartime Defense of India Act against which the two prominent leaders of Punjab staged protests namely Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal who perfectly showcased the communal harmony that existed in that times. Alarmed by the same Sir Michael O’ Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab (1912-1919) issued orders to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Irving to arrest Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal who have organized a peaceful protest against the Rowlatt Act in Amritsar. The associates of Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal established a stage to make their speeches with regard to the arrest in the Jallianwala bagh on Vaisakhi on 13 April 1919. This was the place that gave the platform to the monster the then Brig. Gen Dyer who took revenge by committing a cold-blooded mass human slaughtering in a matter of 10-15 mins which killed about 2ooo martyrs for the humiliation he faced a day before when an aggressive protestant spat on him. After this incident, the actions of General Dyer received a prompt acknowledgment from Sir Michael O’ Dwyer.

THE REVIEW

A poem of barely 900 lines written by a 21 years old survivor perfectly framed the emotions and sentiments one must have felt at that very moment. It unveiled punctiliously the cold-blooded massacre of the unarmed crowd. This book very plainly unfolded the gruesome picture before and after the massacre. I was in tears after every single line I read as the events were being projected before me.

MY VIEW

The thing that I noticed after reading a few books written by the victims about the incident and most of them start with the statement that after they regained consciousness they realized that they were buried under a pile of corpses possibly of their close ones. I agree that the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre was the turning point for the Bharath’s fight for Independence but at the cost of Un-numbered deaths of men, women, children, and elderly people.

I take immense pride in reviewing this book which showed me the importance to know the Indian freedom struggle from an Indian’s point of view. I urge you (readers) to read this book which portrays one of the wrongful acts done by the British raj and am sure it will force you to know more about the Indian struggle from India’s view.

Here’s a link for you to buy the book.