Fancy punishments

In 1919, during martial law in Punjab, following the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre, some odd humiliating punishments were administered by the British Indian Army, dubbed fancy punishments by the Hunter Inquiry into the disturbances.

Background

Martial law was introduced in Punjab at midnight between 15 and 16 April 1919 and backdated to 30 March on 21 April by the Viceroy, at the request of Michael O'Dwyer.^[1]

Punishments

Designed to humiliate, several punishments, dubbed as "fancy" in the Disorders Inquiry Committee, 1919–1920: Report (Hunter Inquiry) , were invented by A. C. Doveton, and included making people skip, draw lines on the ground with their nose, calling out poetry, flogging men in front of female sex-workers, and allegedly painting holy men white.^[2][3][4] Others involved included Henry St. George Murray Mcrae, Bertrand Bosworth-Smith, and district commissioner at Gujranwalla, A. J. O'Brien.^[4][5] Reginald Dyer gave the order for all lawyers in Amritsar to become "special constables", with the task of menial work including sweeping.^[2] O'Brien punished Indians who failed to raise their umbrellas, step down from their vehicles, or salute, at the presence of a "gazetted or commissioned European Civil and Military officer of his Majesty's Service".^[4]

See laso

• Salaaming Order
• Crawling Order

References

1. Collett, Nigel (2006). "17. The crawling order". The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer. A&C Black. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-85285-575-8.
2. Sayer, Derek (1991). "British Reaction to the Amritsar Massacre 1919–1920". Past and Present. 131 (1): 130–164. doi:10.1093/past/131.1.130.
3. Anand, Anita (2021). "10. I repent, I repent, I repent". The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest for Independence. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 115–126. ISBN 978-1-5011-9571-6.
4. Horniman, B. G. (1920). "15. O'Brien, Doveton, and Bosworth-Smith". Amritsar And Our Duty To India. London: T. Fisher Unwin. pp. 150–164.
5. Naidis, Mark (1951). The Punjab Disturbances of 1919: A Study in Indian Nationalism. Stanford University. p. 101.

Further reading

• Report of the Committee Appointed in the Government of India to Investigate the Disturbances in the Punjab, Etc. Vol. IV. Calcutta: H.M. Stationery Office. 1920.
• The Congress Inquiry Report. Bombay: K. Santanam. 1920.