Martial Law Proclamation Not Read Everywhere

THIS, in bare outline, is the story, and even this bare outline is enough to stagger humanity. But the bare outline gives one no idea of the actual facts of the case in the absence of the necessary connecting links. These links were all supplied by the General (Dyer) himself. In reply to a question by Mr. Justice Rankin, that neither he nor anyone else had taken any adequate steps to explain to the people that, although there had been no proclamation of Martial Law, there was de facto Martial Law is no every-day phenomenon in India, and perhaps not one man in a thousand had any idea of what it meant. Its necessity has since been admitted by the authorities themselves, because when Martial Law did come to be introduced notices were issued explaining to the public what it meant and what steps were contemplated under it. Secondly, the General admitted, in reply to questions by Lord Hunter, that the proclamation prohibiting public meetings was not read at many parts of the city at all, and that there may have been a good many at the meeting who never heard of the proclamations. In reply to a question by Pandit Jagat Narain the witness admitted that he did not know if the proclamation had been read and explained in the surroundings villages at all. As a considerable number of those present at the meeting must have come from the villages, the significance of this admission is obvious. Thirdly, the General admitted that he took no step, between 12.30, when he came to learn that a meeting was going to take place, and 4.30 when the meeting did take place, to prevent the crowd from assembling. Fourthly, he admitted that no warning was given to the crowd before the opening of fire, and this in spite of the fact that the phrase “if necessary” in the proclamation might easily mean “unless the crowd peacefully dispersed on being asked to do so by the police or the military.”