A POLITICAL Tule a bigger slice of the world jewel' was the "Indian empire"
that perhaps the Indians could run busincssmen.
ers to the police and goverment loader, Gandhi, organisod a kind of peaceful general steike in protest. In 1919 British imperialism was still riding high, It could claim to than anyone else, and its preatest No wonder then, that Britain's rulers and their agonts in India should ant snint. have reacted violently to sugatations their own affairs better than British officials, British soldicts, and British To deal with these uppity natives, the British Government passed emergency laws which save sweeping pow officials. The pacifist ani nationalist In the northern Indian city of Amntsar two such strikes took place two most prominent nationalist leadors When this news got out demonstr ations broke out, and in the confront ations which followed the army fired burnt down, as was the Town Hall. A rowe under martial law. The commander of the British forces. BrigadierGeneral Dyet, now set ahout "pacifying' the city, which was still in an irate and militant mood. What Dyer wanted was co waver a masoe crow apaise the inhabitants and break their milit When he received word that a mass meeting was being held on waste ground 3et up. Tike most such bodies it did s in the city he seized his chance. He marched to the meeting, where he Found 20,000 local Inhabitants packed into a large area henned in by bigh walls. Scaling off the main axit witl two armoured cars, he had firty eillemen take up firing positions.
Then, without any warning and before most of the crowd wore cen awaru of his presenos, ho ardered his men to open fire. Tor a quarter of an hour the soldiers fired continuously into the unarmod and panic-stricken crowd. Soldiers sha fired above the crowd's heads wone threatened by theil officersand told to fire low, According to official toconds 1650 rounds were tirod. Almost every bullet found its mark. In the space of those 15 minutes almost 400 were killed, and another 1200 wounded. But Dycr had carried our his aim, and his action was promplly endorsed by his military superiors and the replonal povemment Dyer then did everything in his power to humiliate and demoralise the inhabitants. Indians who showed disrespect for army officers were publiely Blogged. The street where the woman missionary had been attacked was closed, and Indians who wanted to pass down it were rented to da so on all-fours. Six boys merely sumpacted of heing involved in the attack wete pubticly beaten without the nicetics or a trial, The brutal suppression of the mallocalist movement in India aroused some political opposition in Britain, and a Commission of Enquiry was whitewash job (it approvod, for exampis, a decison to bomb demonstrations from the air). But it had touble with General Dyer, beezuse he insisted on being both trank and unrepentant about his mass killing The Commusion could not sweep him under the rug so lt criticised tum for filing to give an order to dispers, and for 'firing far too long' The Government Followed suit. In July 1920 Winston Churchill told che House of Commons that Dyer was guilty of an error of jndeement" and was being rerieed on half pay But even this mid "puntshment" enraged a big section of the ruling class. 129 MP's voted against thu Gor cement —on the grounds that they agreed with Dyer's actions and a nagonizy of the House of Lords took the same position! The Tory Morning Port ia predocaser of the Daily Trice rapit which is now an enthusiastic advocate of tough treatment for terror 1sts) lahelled the hutcher of Amritsar the saviour of lodie, and opened a public subscription to reward Dyer for his services to British Imperialism. Within a low weeks it had put inore than £15,000 into his blood-stained handse Our Political Committee has discussed your lettec-and enclosure of November 26, 1974.
We are fighting against the so-callac Anti-Tarror legislation in the way set out in our policy stataments and pub lished in Workers Press. Wie consider