Examination of the Jallianwala Bag Event in the Context of Saadat Hasan Manto’s 1919 Ki Ek Bat and Tamasha’s Stories
Mehmet Kemal ÇakmakçıIn 1919, the British enacted the Rowlatt Law to prevent the rising nationalist and revolutionary movements among the Indian people as a result of the pressure and martial law they applied on India. Under this law, Indians were prohibited from performing any action and being in large groups. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, one of the prominent political leaders of the Indian subcontinent, invited the public to implement Hartal, which means closing shops, against this law. The British government did not approve of this decision. Seyfeddin Kiclev, one of the leading activists of the Indian independence movement, and Dr. Satya Pal were arrested for leading the protest against this decision of the British Government. After this situation, people from all walks of life, including children, women, young people, old people, Muslims and Hindus, came together to hold a non-violent protest in Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919. In his 1919 story Ek Bat, Saadat Hasan Manto, the leading short story writer of Urdu literature, narrates the situation faced by the crowd gathered in Amritsar square as a reaction to the Rowlatt Law through a young man named Thila Kanjar, who is addicted to alcohol and gambling. This young man leads the way to unite the people but loses his life when he is shot. However, with the heroism he displays, he inspires the crowd and those that come after him. The author concludes the story with his sisters, who were not welcomed by the public at first, after the main character, Thila, laid down her life for independence, and became respected. The author of another story, Tamasha, wrote about this event through Halid. Horror and heroism are intertwined in the story. At the time of the incident, the author was a seven-year-old living in Amritsar, and the character Halid is also 7 years old in the story. This story is also remarkable in that it is a story that Manto personally experienced.
Caliyanvala Bağ Hadisesinin Saadat Hasan Manto’nun 1919 Kî Ek Bât ve Temaşa Adlı Öyküleri Bağlamında İncelenmesi
Mehmet Kemal ÇakmakçıXX. yüzyıl başlarında İngilizler, Hindistan üzerinde uyguladıkları baskı ve sıkıyönetim neticesinde Hint halkı arasında yükselişe geçen milliyetçi ve devrimci hareketlerin önüne geçmek için 1919 yılında Rowlatt Yasasını çıkarmıştır. Bu yasa ile Hint halkının herhangi bir eylem gerçekleştirmesi ve toplu halde bulunmaları yasaklanmıştır. Hint alt kıtasının önde gelen siyasi liderlerinden Mohandas Karamçand Gandhi bu kanuna karşı halkı dükkân kapatma manasına gelen Hartal uygulamaya davet etmiş ve İngiliz hükümetinin bu kararını onaylamadığını kanıtlamıştır. Hint bağımsızlık hareketinin önde gelen aktivistlerinden Seyfeddin Kiçlev ve Dr. Satya Pal İngiliz Hükümetinin aldığı bu kararı protesto etmeye öncülük ettikleri gerekçesiyle tutuklanmıştır. Tutuklanmalar üzerine halk, 13 Nisan 1919’de Caliyanvala Bağ’da şiddet içermeyen bir protesto gerçekleştirmek için çocuk, kadın, genç, yaşlı, Müslüman, Hindu her kesimden ve yaştan insan bir araya gelmiştir. Urdu edebiyatının önde gelen öykü yazarı Saadat Hasan Manto, 1919 kî Eyk Bât adlı hikâyesinde, yürürlüğe konulan Rowlatt Yasası’na tepki olarak Amritsar meydanında toplanan kalabalığın karşı karşıya kaldığı durumu Thila Kancar adında şehirde alkol ve kumar bağımlısı bir gencin üzerinden anlatmaktadır. Bu genç, halkı birleştirmek adına önderlik etmiş, ancak vurularak hayatını kaybetmiş yine de sergilediği kahramanlık ile kendisinden sonra gelen kalabalığa cesaret aşılamıştır. Yazar, hikâyeyi ana karakter Thila’nın bağımsızlık için canını ortaya koymasının ardından önceleri halk tarafından hoş karşılanmayan kız kardeşlerinin saygı duyulacak bir duruma gelmesiyle sonlandırır. Bir diğer hikâyesi Temaşa’da yazar, bu hadiseyi Halid üzerinden kaleme almıştır. Hikâyede korku ve kahramanlık iç içedir. Olay yaşandığında yazar Amritsar’da yaşamakta ve Manto da Halid de yedi yaşındadır. Bu hikâye Manto’nun bizzat deneyimlediği bir hikâye olması bakımından da dikkat çekicidir.
On March 10, 1919, the British Government enacted the Rowlatt Law in order to prevent the rising nationalist and revolutionary movements among the Indian people as a result of the pressure and martial law they applied on India. This law aimed to restrict the people’s freedom by preventing them from being in groups and taking part in political, religious or social activities. This law gave extraordinary powers to the government in security affairs. The British police forces did not hesitate to use these powers ruthlessly against the people. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a prominent political leader of the Indian sub-continent, invited the people to implement Hartal, which is a kind of general strike in which shops are closed, against this law, and the British government did not approve of this decision
The Caliphate Movement, which the Muslims of India established to support the Ottoman Empire, which held the caliphate, enabled the Muslims of the subcontinent to act in absolute harmony. A rally was held in India on April 10, 1919 to give speeches on both the Rowlatt Law and the Caliphate Movement.
According to official results, 379 people were killed and 1,200 injured in the region as a result of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. 87 of those who died were foreigners or people coming from the villages to the celebrations. The oppression and persecution experienced during the martial law period after the shooting at the unarmed people gathered in a place called Jallianwala Bag in Amritsar took the lives of the people of the region. The inhumane events that took place here were recorded as the Amritsar Massacre, the Jallianwala Bag Incident/ Accident. As a result, the patriotic feelings of the people of the subcontinent under the British empire were strengthened, and it became an important turning point leading to independence.
This brutality and tragedy experienced in the subcontinent caused an awakening among the people, the development of patriotic feelings in the literary world, and the emergence of literary works in this field.
Saadat Hasan Manto, who is among the modern Urdu writers, included in his works the social and political events that the Indian sub-continent society had to face during his lifetime. Manto mentioned the massacre that took place in Amritsar in Punjab state in 1919, in his story Ek Bat, Rowlatt Laws’ protests in Jallianwala Bagh turn a young man into a hero who is not accepted by the society. Showing unexpected courage, Thila Kanjar encouraged the crowd to act cautiously, but despite being unarmed, he was shot many times by armed British soldiers. He showed a great example of heroism and did not give up his struggle. Thila, who lost his life here, was quickly buried so that you could erase the traces and his sacrifice would be forgotten.Saadat Hasan Manto covered this historical massacre down to the smallest details. Pointing out that Thila’s singing and dancing sisters Almas and Shamsad were summoned to entertain the rulers of the time to avenge Marcella Sherwood, who was beaten by protesters while passing through a street during the demonstrations, the author states that the sisters went there but acted bravely like their brother Thila.
Manto, whose works were realistic, included the massacre that took place in Jallianwala Bagh in another story, Tamasha. Manto, who was only 7 years old and was in Amritsar at the time of the incident, narrated the events that happened to him in this story with a character named Halid. In the story, Halid, who imagines that his father will take him to a show, is at home, since the schools are closed. However, he cannot make sense of the fact that the streets and bazaars are empty and the shops are closed. Halid, who is very worried and afraid at the thought that the planes would drop bombs at the time of the incident, finally takes a deep breath when he sees papers with notes on them instead of bombs from planes. In the massacre that takes place in the afternoon, the sounds of airplanes are first drowned out by gunfire, then screams and groans. However, Halid still can’t make sense of what has happened. Later, when he saw the injured and groaning man falling on his back, he could not make sense of it. In this story, where fear and courage work together, Halid’s family, in great desperation, cannot help the injured youth.
In both stories, Manto refers to Hartal, which means closing shops and was initiated by Gandhi against Rowlatt’s Laws. The fact that the author includes young characters in the stories conveys the message that he is hopeful for the future of his country. Although this massacre, which took place in 1919, contained many painful events, it was one of the most important turning points for the Indian subcontinent in the process of independence.
