While every Indian knows about Jallianwala Bagh massacre, few of us think about the reactions of the British public to the event. The massacre itself was blacked out by the government in India and martial law was in place. When news got out, the British tabloids referred to Jallianwala Bagh massacre as the “Amritsar affair” — in an obvious use of minimising language.
How could the “affair “ change the attitudes of British public if they were denied truth? The answer lies , as often, in the efforts one man. A man whose origins are as far away from Punjab as one can imagine.
Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair was born in an aristocratic family in 1857 in Palakkad district of Kerala. His strong sense of fairness and justice, drove him to pursue law. Nair was an iconoclast and defied the dictates of Vakil association, which said no Indian would work under a British barrister. His reason : his clients had the freedom to choose their lawyer. To him justice mattered more than the color of the lawyer’s skin. He was a vociferous advocate of social reforms.
As Madras High court judge, he ruled that those who converted to Hinduism cannot be treated as outcastes. He also supported inter-religious marriages and was clearly ahead of his time. He became the youngest leader of Indian National congress. When the Montagu Chelmsford reforms were introduced in 1908, he called out the act as being partial. Even though Sir Edwin Montagu called him an “impossible man” , the British respected his moral rectitude and knighted him in 1912. In 1915 Nair became a member of the powerful Viceroy council and was given the education portfolio.
Then Jallianwala Bagh happened.
Nair resigned from the Viceroy council in protest - something unheard of , at that time. . He wrote “Gandhi and Anarchy” in which he openly accused Punjab Governor Michael O’Dwyer (the man who would be later shot by Shaheed Udham Singh). In response, O’Dwyer filed a defamation suit against Nair.
Nair faced a suit against a British man in a British court , presided over by a British judge and a British jury. All cards were stacked against him - yet he fought valiantly. The trial was the longest civil case London had seen until that time and lasted five and a half weeks. It laid threadbare the British atrocities in India and got extensive press coverage , something neither Nair nor O’Dwyer could have imagined. The British public, for the first time, understood that the call for Indian Swarajya wasn’t rebellious or seditious.
Sadly Nair lost the case 11 to 1 and had to pay a fine of 500 pounds. O’Dwyer said he would forgo that amount if Nair apologises. To which Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair said, “ I would rather pay 500 pounds than say something I don’t believe in. Besides what’s the guarantee that the next 12 shopkeepers in a British court wouldn’t side with their own? “
His fearless nature ensured that people all over the world heard about Jallianwala Bagh massacre. From New York to Paris, from Berlin to Moscow , Nair shook the image of the mighty British Empire, if only for five weeks.
Not all battles are fought for victory. Some are fought simply to tell the world that someone was there on the battlefield. The greatest tragedy such a warrior can face is being forgotten, erased from the history books of the very nation he fought for. The least we can do to correct such historic wrongs, is to tell our children about courage and conviction of our heroes.
Jai Hind, Jai the Heros of India !
How could the “affair “ change the attitudes of British public if they were denied truth? The answer lies , as often, in the efforts one man. A man whose origins are as far away from Punjab as one can imagine.
Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair was born in an aristocratic family in 1857 in Palakkad district of Kerala. His strong sense of fairness and justice, drove him to pursue law. Nair was an iconoclast and defied the dictates of Vakil association, which said no Indian would work under a British barrister. His reason : his clients had the freedom to choose their lawyer. To him justice mattered more than the color of the lawyer’s skin. He was a vociferous advocate of social reforms.
As Madras High court judge, he ruled that those who converted to Hinduism cannot be treated as outcastes. He also supported inter-religious marriages and was clearly ahead of his time. He became the youngest leader of Indian National congress. When the Montagu Chelmsford reforms were introduced in 1908, he called out the act as being partial. Even though Sir Edwin Montagu called him an “impossible man” , the British respected his moral rectitude and knighted him in 1912. In 1915 Nair became a member of the powerful Viceroy council and was given the education portfolio.
Then Jallianwala Bagh happened.
Nair resigned from the Viceroy council in protest - something unheard of , at that time. . He wrote “Gandhi and Anarchy” in which he openly accused Punjab Governor Michael O’Dwyer (the man who would be later shot by Shaheed Udham Singh). In response, O’Dwyer filed a defamation suit against Nair.
Nair faced a suit against a British man in a British court , presided over by a British judge and a British jury. All cards were stacked against him - yet he fought valiantly. The trial was the longest civil case London had seen until that time and lasted five and a half weeks. It laid threadbare the British atrocities in India and got extensive press coverage , something neither Nair nor O’Dwyer could have imagined. The British public, for the first time, understood that the call for Indian Swarajya wasn’t rebellious or seditious.
Sadly Nair lost the case 11 to 1 and had to pay a fine of 500 pounds. O’Dwyer said he would forgo that amount if Nair apologises. To which Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair said, “ I would rather pay 500 pounds than say something I don’t believe in. Besides what’s the guarantee that the next 12 shopkeepers in a British court wouldn’t side with their own? “
His fearless nature ensured that people all over the world heard about Jallianwala Bagh massacre. From New York to Paris, from Berlin to Moscow , Nair shook the image of the mighty British Empire, if only for five weeks.
Not all battles are fought for victory. Some are fought simply to tell the world that someone was there on the battlefield. The greatest tragedy such a warrior can face is being forgotten, erased from the history books of the very nation he fought for. The least we can do to correct such historic wrongs, is to tell our children about courage and conviction of our heroes.
Jai Hind, Jai the Heros of India !
Forwarded from Amazing Temples
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Video from Srikanth Matrubai
*Why First World War WWI was started ?*
The First World War feels almost like a murder mystery, the immediate cause was the *assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria-Hungary* . His death at the hands of *Gavrilo Princip – a Serbian nationalist* with ties to the secretive military group known as the Black Hand – propelled the major European military powers towards war. The First World War lasted more than four years and killed between 15 and 19 million people.
*June 28, 1914* - Gavrilo Princip assassinates Franz Ferdinand.
*July 28, 1914* - Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. That is when their supportive friend Russia, they hoped, would leap to the defense of Serbia, defeat the Habsburg armies, and help the Bosnian Serbs win their independence.
*August 2, 1914* - Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and Germany sign a secret treaty of alliance.
*August 3, 1914* - Germany declares war on France.
*August 4, 1914* - Germany invades Belgium, leading Britain to declare war on Germany.
*August 10, 1914* - Austria-Hungary invades Russia.
Many others, including Australia, India and most African colonies, fought at the behest of their imperial rulers. Imperialism was another important trend that helped expand and accelerate the war. Many of the warring countries had imperial objectives in mind when they went to war. Their motives were partly about gaining strategic advantage. Russia hoped to gain control of the Straits of Dardanelles from the Ottoman Empire, giving their fleet access to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time ever. Britain and France wanted control over parts of the Ottoman Empire. Japan joined the war on the side of the Entente (Britain, France, and Russia) because they hoped to seize some German colonies in the Pacific Ocean. This imperialism had an economic motive as well. Empires were looking to seize important trade routes and raw materials from their opponents as well as to gain strategic advantages.
=======================
The First World War feels almost like a murder mystery, the immediate cause was the *assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria-Hungary* . His death at the hands of *Gavrilo Princip – a Serbian nationalist* with ties to the secretive military group known as the Black Hand – propelled the major European military powers towards war. The First World War lasted more than four years and killed between 15 and 19 million people.
*June 28, 1914* - Gavrilo Princip assassinates Franz Ferdinand.
*July 28, 1914* - Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. That is when their supportive friend Russia, they hoped, would leap to the defense of Serbia, defeat the Habsburg armies, and help the Bosnian Serbs win their independence.
*August 2, 1914* - Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and Germany sign a secret treaty of alliance.
*August 3, 1914* - Germany declares war on France.
*August 4, 1914* - Germany invades Belgium, leading Britain to declare war on Germany.
*August 10, 1914* - Austria-Hungary invades Russia.
Many others, including Australia, India and most African colonies, fought at the behest of their imperial rulers. Imperialism was another important trend that helped expand and accelerate the war. Many of the warring countries had imperial objectives in mind when they went to war. Their motives were partly about gaining strategic advantage. Russia hoped to gain control of the Straits of Dardanelles from the Ottoman Empire, giving their fleet access to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time ever. Britain and France wanted control over parts of the Ottoman Empire. Japan joined the war on the side of the Entente (Britain, France, and Russia) because they hoped to seize some German colonies in the Pacific Ocean. This imperialism had an economic motive as well. Empires were looking to seize important trade routes and raw materials from their opponents as well as to gain strategic advantages.
=======================
BEFORE SLEEPING KNOW THIS...
The thrill of having a piping hot tasty Masala Dosa with refreshing South Indian Coffee in the bone chilling temperature at 14,000 feet high mountains is a reality.
Enroute to the 17,800 feet high Gurudongmar Lake in Sikkim, lies the Munre Munneru Dosa Point managed by our own beloved Indian Army.
The food point also serves Uttapam, Idli, Rasam, Upma, Aloo Paratha & is very pocket friendly too.
The thrill of having a piping hot tasty Masala Dosa with refreshing South Indian Coffee in the bone chilling temperature at 14,000 feet high mountains is a reality.
Enroute to the 17,800 feet high Gurudongmar Lake in Sikkim, lies the Munre Munneru Dosa Point managed by our own beloved Indian Army.
The food point also serves Uttapam, Idli, Rasam, Upma, Aloo Paratha & is very pocket friendly too.
WHY do hot drinks help beat the heat?
In summer, when the heat outside is unbearable, the best way to cope with it and quench thirst is to drink hot tea.
Unlike cold drinks, hot beverages raise our body temperature and make us feel cooler.
In summer, when the heat outside is unbearable, the best way to cope with it and quench thirst is to drink hot tea.
Unlike cold drinks, hot beverages raise our body temperature and make us feel cooler.