Mass Murders

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), mass murder is generally defined as assorted homicide events in which four or more victims are murdered within the single event and in one or more locales in close geographical vicinity. Many research studies have been conducted and still being conducted in finding out what triggers those kinds of people in committing such crimes. Usually, mass murders are carried out using guns and explosives in schools, restaurants, workplaces, places of worship and several other common places which make the public to sweat bullets and lose faith over the government and the lawmen. These audacious shooting incidents have instigated media, gun control advancements groups and law enforcement agency to dispute whether these mass murder episodes have gained more popularity with time. Research studies show that each group handles a particular strategy and technique in killing people for different causes. Several surveys were conducted among people in order to study about the mindset of common people over these mass killings, which were published in various leading newspapers and journals such as the Seattle Times, Washington Post, Homicide Studies. There are innumerable mass murders in the history of the world in which Jallianwala Bagh Massacre is discussed in this article.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was held on Sunday, April 13, 1919 in Amritsar by General R.E.H Dyer killing hundreds of innocent, unarmed, defenceless Indians including women and children. The day was the Punjab’s largest religious festival event ‘Baisakhi’ which was considered sacred and celebrated as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa by the Sikhs. The carnage took place at Jallianwala Bagh which was a garden house with uneven and unoccupied area, not having proper walls and with a small narrow entrance approximately 225x180 m was being used as a dumping site.

The air striking and demolition of the boundary wall of Gurdwara Rikabgang in New Delhi led to the agitation of Indians especially the Sikh Indians. Also, the activities of Ghardrites were keen in motivating the Sikhs and the other people of India against the British. These set as the main cause of the mass killing at Jallianwala Bagh. During December 1961, the Indian National Congress held its annual session in Lucknow with the aim of seeking an independent government at an early stage as they were in accordance with the British policy of war efforts said the Secretary of State for India E.S Montagu on August 20,1917. Despite this Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy of India formed a sedition committee known as the Rowlatt committee on December 10, 1917 to look upon the nature of the revolutionary movement and criminal conspiracies in India. Based on the committee’s recommendations two bills popularly known as Rowlatt bills were published on January 18, 1919 which was protested by Mahatma Gandhi by organizing a non-violent civil disobedience campaign - Satyagraha. This called for the nationwide strike on April 6, 1919 which was initiated and led by Mahatma Gandhi. Although the strike went on peacefully, on April 9, 1919 Sir Michael Francis O’ Dwyer, the governor of Punjab suddenly decided to arrest two popular leaders Dr Satyapal and Dr Saifud-Din Kitchlew and also declining the entry of Gandhi into Punjab under the Defense of Indian rules on the same day. They were taken to Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. The arrest of their leaders’ made the people of Amritsar to call upon a general strike at the Jallianwala Bagh garden house. They were gathered in thousands defending for their leaders. At that time General R.E.H Dyer came along with 50 gunmen and ordered the gunmen to surround the gathering and also to close the only entry. The British - Indian soldiers were ordered to shoot directly at the crowd and the firing was continued for 20 minutes with 1650 rounds of 0.303 inch ammunition and the soldiers fired till they ran out of bullets. The total number of casualties was estimated to be around 15,000 to 20,000 and several were seriously wounded. After the massacre was over around 120 dead bodies were taken out of the Martyrs’ well.

Even though General Dyer was not punished immediately he was charged of guilt of having killed so many people, he was ordered to resign from the army. A Sikh teenager Udham Singh saw the killing with his own eyes while he was raised at Khalsa, took revenge for his countrymen by killing Michael Francis O’ Dwyer in London who ordered General Dyer for this mass execution.

These mass murders have to be stopped by properly educating people and meeting the demands of the people without corrupting their resources and funds. Also the government should punish these criminals seriously by hanging them in order to reduce the number of killings and execution.

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