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109-1149: The Ghadar Mutiny , also known as the Ghadar Conspiracy , was a plan to initiate a pan-India mutiny in the British Indian Army in February 1915 to end the British Raj in India. The plot originated at the onset of World War I , between the Ghadar Party in the United States, the Berlin Committee in Germany, the Indian revolutionary underground in British India and the German Foreign Office through

218-565: A German victory; one of the emigrant leaders warned that his associates were in touch with the Bengal revolutionary party. It was at this juncture, in December 1914, that Pingle arrived in the Punjab, promising Bengali co-operation to the malcontent emigrants. A meeting demanded revolution, plundering of Government treasuries, seduction of Indian troops, collection of arms, preparation of bombs and

327-701: A base in England at India House. However, he rejected the petitioning, praying, protesting, cooperating and collaborating policy of the Congress Party, which he considered undignified and shameful. Shyamji Krisha supported Lokmanya Tilak during the Age of Consent bill controversy of 1890. In 1897, following the harsh measures adopted by the British colonial government during the plague crisis in Poona , he supported

436-526: A boat; and the famous mutiny on the Bounty . Those convicted of mutiny often faced capital punishment . Until 1689, mutiny was regulated in England by Articles of War instituted by the monarch and effective only in a period of war. In 1689, the first Mutiny Act was approved, which passed the responsibility to enforce discipline within the military to Parliament . The Mutiny Act, altered in 1803, and

545-772: A body of royal marine forces on shore, and of keeping them in exact discipline, and it brings into force the Army Act for one year. Until 1998, mutiny and another offence of failing to suppress or report a mutiny were each punishable with death. Section 21(5) of the Human Rights Act 1998 completely abolished the death penalty in the United Kingdom . (Prior to this, the death penalty had already been abolished for murder, but it had remained in force for certain military offences and treason , although no executions had been carried out for several decades.) This provision

654-468: A century after the passing of the first Mutiny Act. From 1689 to 1803, the Mutiny Act occasionally expired during times of peace. Yet statutory power was given to the crown to make Articles of War that operated in the colonies and elsewhere beyond the seas in the same manner as those made by prerogative in times of war. In 1715, in consequence of the rebellion, this power was created in respect of

763-700: A common umbrella under the leadership of Rash Behari Bose in North India, V. G. Pingle in Maharashtra , and Sachindranath Sanyal in Benares . A plan was made for a unified general uprising, with the date set for 21 February 1915. In India, confident of being able to rally the Indian sepoy , the plot for the mutiny took its final shape. Under the plans, the 23rd Cavalry in Punjab was to seize weapons and kill their officers while on roll call on 21 February. This

872-579: A cousin of the trooper Balwant Singh (23rd Cavalry), US-returned Kirpal, a spy, visited Rash Behari's Lahore headquarters near the Mochi Gate, where over a dozen leaders including Pingle met on 15 February 1915. Kirpal informed the police. Sensing that their plans had been compromised, the D-day was brought forward to 19 February, but even these plans found their way to the Punjab CID. Plans for revolt by

981-584: A daughter of a wealthy businessman of the Bhatia community and sister of his school friend Ramdas. Then he got in touch with the nationalist Swami Dayananda Saraswati , a reformer and an exponent of the Vedas , who had founded the Arya Samaj . He became his disciple and was soon conducting lectures on Vedic philosophy and religion. In 1877, a public speaking tour secured him a great public recognition. He became

1090-675: A hostel for Indian students, based at 65, Cromwell Avenue, Highgate. This living accommodation for 25 students was formally inaugurated on 1 July by Henry Hyndman , of the Social Democratic Federation , in the presence of Dadabhai Naoroji , Lala Lajpat Rai , Madam Cama , Mr. Swinney (of the London Positivist Society ), Mr. Harry Quelch (the editor of the Social Democratic Federation's Justice ) and Charlotte Despard ,

1199-562: A lapse of almost six years. He published two more issues of Indian Sociologist in August and September 1922, before ill health prevented him continuing. He died in hospital at 11:30 p.m. on 30 March 1930 leaving his wife, Bhanumati Krishnavarma. News of his death was suppressed by the British colonial government in India. Nevertheless, tributes were paid to him by Bhagat Singh and other inmates in Lahore Jail where they were undergoing

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1308-629: A lecture on "the origin of writing in India" to the Royal Asiatic Society . The speech was very well received and he was elected a non-resident member of the society. In 1881, he represented India at the Berlin Congress of Orientalists . He returned to India in 1885 and started practice as a lawyer. Then he was appointed as Diwan (chief minister) by the King of Ratlam State; but ill health forced him to retire from this post with

1417-425: A long-term drawn-out trial. Maratha , an English daily newspaper started by Bal Gangadhar Tilak paid tribute to him. He had made prepaid arrangements with the local government of Geneva and St Georges cemetery to preserve his and his wife's ashes at the cemetery for 100 years and to send their urns to India whenever it became independent during that period. Requested by Paris-based scholar Dr Prithwindra Mukherjee,

1526-713: A lump sum gratuity of Rs.32,052 for his service. After a short stay in Mumbai, he settled in Ajmer , headquarters of his Guru Swami Dayananda Saraswati , and continued his practice at the British Court in Ajmer. He invested his income in three cotton presses and secured sufficient permanent income to be independent for the rest of his life. He served for the Maharaja of Udaipur as a council member from 1893 to 1895, followed by

1635-675: A noted scholar in Sanskrit and other Indian languages. He pursued a brief legal career in India and served as the Divan of a number of Indian princely states in India. He had, however, differences with Crown authority, was dismissed following a supposed conspiracy of British colonial officials at Junagadh and chose to return to England. An admirer of Dayanand Saraswati 's approach of cultural nationalism , and of Herbert Spencer , Krishna Varma believed in Spencer's dictum: "Resistance to aggression

1744-756: A number of trials in India, most famous among them being the Lahore Conspiracy Case trial , which opened in Lahore in April 1915 in the aftermath of the failed February mutiny. Other trials included the Benares, Simla, Delhi, and Ferozepur conspiracy cases, and the trials of those arrested at Budge Budge. At Lahore, a special tribunal was constituted under the Defence of India Act 1915 and a total of 291 conspirators were put on trial. Of these 42 were awarded

1853-630: A very important meeting, Rash Behari announced the rebellion, proclaiming: "Die for their country." Though through Havildar Mansha Singh, the 16th Rajput Rifles at Fort William was successfully approached, Jatin Mukherjee wanted two months for the army revolt, synchronising with the arrival of the German arms. He modified the plan according to the impatience of the Gadhar militants to rush to action. Rash Behari and Pingle went to Lahore. Sachin tampered with

1962-657: A wealthy lawyer of Irish descent called Myron Phelps . Phelps admired Swami Vivekananda , and the Vedanta Society (established by the Swami) in New York was at the time under Swami Abhedananda , who was considered " seditionist " by the British. In New York, Indian students and ex-residents of London India House took advantage of liberal press laws to circulate The Indian Sociologist and other nationalist literature. New York increasingly became an important centre for

2071-485: Is a fixed permanent code. But constitutional traditions are fully respected by the insertion in it of a section providing that it shall come into force only by virtue of an annual act of parliament. This annual act recites the illegality of a standing army in time of peace unless with the consent of parliament, and the necessity nevertheless of maintaining a certain number of land forces (exclusive of those serving in India) and

2180-529: Is not mutiny, which requires collaboration or conspiracy to disobedience. Shyamji Krishna Varma Shyamji Krishna Varma (4 October 1857 – 30 March 1930) was an Indian revolutionary fighter, an Indian patriot, lawyer and journalist who founded the Indian Home Rule Society , India House and The Indian Sociologist in London . A graduate of Balliol College , Krishna Varma was

2289-530: Is not simply justified, but imperative". In 1905, he founded the India House and The Indian Sociologist , which rapidly developed as an organised meeting point for radical nationalists among Indian students in Britain at the time and one of the most prominent centres for revolutionary Indian nationalism outside India. Krishna Varma moved to Paris in 1907, avoiding prosecution. Shyamji Krishna Varma

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2398-605: Is the obligation of every member of the U.S. military , a principle established by the Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials following World War II and reaffirmed in the aftermath of the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War . However, a U.S. soldier who disobeys an order after deeming it unlawful will almost certainly be court-martialed to determine whether the disobedience was proper. In addition, simple refusal to obey

2507-635: The 1915 Singapore Mutiny , the Annie Larsen arms plot , Christmas Day Plot , events leading up to the death of Bagha Jatin , as well as the German mission to Kabul , the mutiny of the Connaught Rangers in India, as well as, by some accounts, the Black Tom explosion in 1916. The Indo-Irish-German alliance and the conspiracy were the target of a worldwide British intelligence effort, which

2616-607: The Hindustan Ghadar essentially espoused the philosophies of anarchism and revolutionary terrorism against British interests in India. Political discontent and violence mounted in Punjab, and Ghadarite publications that reached Bombay from California were deemed seditious and banned by the Raj. These events, compounded by evidence of prior Ghadarite incitement in the Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy of 1912, led

2725-665: The Hindu–German Mutiny This conspiracy also attempted to rally Afghanistan against British India. A number of failed attempts were made at mutiny, of which the February mutiny plan and the Singapore Mutiny remain most notable. This movement was suppressed by means of a massive international counter-intelligence operation and draconian political acts (including the Defence of India Act 1915 ) that lasted nearly ten years. Early works towards Indian nationalism in

2834-482: The Inner Temple in 1909. This decision was revisited in 2015, and a unanimous decision taken to posthumously reinstated him. In the 1970s, a new town developed in his native state of Kutch , was named after him as Shyamji Krishna Varmanagar in his memory and honor. India Post released postal stamps and first day cover commemorating him. Kuchchh University was renamed after him. The India Post has issued

2943-685: The Irish Republican and suffragette . Declaring India House open, Hyndman remarked, "As things stands, loyalty to Great Britain means treachery to India. The institution of this India House means a great step in that direction of Indian growth and Indian emancipation, and some of those who are here this afternoon may live to witness the fruits of its triumphant success." Shyamji hoped India House would incubate Indian revolutionaries and Bhikaiji Cama , S. R. Rana , Vinayak Damodar Savarkar , Virendranath Chattopadhyaya , and Lala Hardayal were all associated with it. Later in 1905, Shyamji attended

3052-467: The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force . The military law of England in early times existed, like the forces to which it applied, in a period of war only. Troops were raised for a particular service and were disbanded upon the cessation of hostilities. The crown, by prerogative , made laws known as Articles of War for the government and discipline of the troops while thus embodied and serving. Except for

3161-600: The Swarajya group. Rash Behari Bose had been in Benares since early 1914. Large number of outrages were committed there between October 1914 and September 1915, 45 of them before February was over. On 18 November 1914, while examining two bomb caps, he and Sachin Sanyal had been injured. They shifted to a house in Bangalitola, where Pingle visited him with a letter from Jatin Mukherjee and reported that some 4000 Sikhs of

3270-683: The Swarajya of Allahabad, was warned in April 1908 against sedition. On 22 August 1909, Sundar Lal and Sri Aurobindo delivered "mischievous speeches" in College Square, Calcutta. The Karmayogi in Hindi was issued in Allahabad since September 1909: controlled by Sri Aurobindo, the Calcutta Karmagogin was edited by Amarendra Chatterjee who had introduced Rash Behari to Sundar Lal. In 1915, Pingle will be received in Allahabad by

3379-730: The Yugantar Ashram press in San Francisco. The press produced the Hindustan Ghadar newspaper and other nationalist literature. Har Dayal's contacts with erstwhile members of India House in Paris and in Berlin allowed early concepts of Indo-German collaboration to take shape. Towards the end of 1913, the party established contact with prominent revolutionaries in India, including Rash Behari Bose . An Indian edition of

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3488-474: The 130th Baluchi Regiment at Rangoon on 21 February were thwarted. On 15 February, the 5th Light Infantry stationed at Singapore was among the few units to actually rebel. About half of the eight hundred and fifty troops comprising the regiment mutinied on the afternoon of the 15th, along with nearly a hundred men of the Malay States Guides . This mutiny lasted almost seven days, and resulted in

3597-411: The 7th Rajputs (Benares) and the 89th Punjabis at Dinapore. Damodar Sarup [Seth] went to Allahabad. Vinayak Rao Kapile conveyed bombs from Bengal to Punjab. Bibhuti [Haldar, approver] and Priyo Nath [Bhattacharya?] seduced the troops at Benares; Nalini [Mukherjee] at Jabalpur. On 14 February, Kapile carried from Benares to Lahore a parcel containing materials for 18 bombs. By the middle of January, Pingle

3706-693: The Articles of War defined the nature and punishment of mutiny until the latter were replaced by the Army Discipline and Regulation Act in 1879. This, in turn, was replaced by the Army Act in 1881. Today the Armed Forces Act 2006 defines mutiny as follows: (2)For the purposes of this section a person subject to service law takes part in a mutiny if— (a)in concert with at least one other person subject to service law, he— (i)acts with

3815-404: The British government to pressure the American State Department to suppress Indian revolutionary activities and Ghadarite literature, which emanated mostly from San Francisco. 1912 Rashbehari Bose and Sachin Sanyal staged a spectacular bomb attack on Viceroy Hardinge while he was making official entry into the new Capital of Delhi in a processing through Chandni Chowk in December 1912. Hardinge

3924-478: The British press were anti–Shyamji and printed several allegations against him and his newspaper. He defended them boldly. The Times referred to him as the "Notorious Krishnavarma". Many newspapers criticised the British progressives who supported Shyamji and his view. His movements were closely watched by the British secret service, so he decided to shift his headquarters to Paris , leaving India House in charge of Vir Savarkar . Shyamji left Britain secretly before

4033-413: The British war effort by providing men and resources. About 1.3  million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, while both the Indian government and the princes sent large supplies of food, money, and ammunition. However, Bengal and Punjab remained hotbeds of anti colonial activities . Militancy in Bengal, increasingly closely linked with the unrest in Punjab,

4142-618: The Gadhar had already reached Calcutta. 15.000 more were waiting to join the rebellion. Rash Behari sent Pingle and Sachin to Amritsar, to discuss with Mula Singh who had arrived from Shanghai. Behari's man of confidence, Pingle, led a hectic life in UP and Punjab for several weeks. During the Komagata Maru affray in Budge Budge, near Calcutta, on 29 September 1914, Baba Gurmukh Singh had contacted Atulkrishna Ghosh and Satish Chakravarti, two eminent associates of Jatin Mukherjee, who actively assisted them. Since then, angry letters from US-based Indians had reached India expressing hopes for

4251-557: The Ghadarite cause within the Indian community there. In January 1914, Singh visited India and circulated Ghadar literature amongst Indian soldiers through clandestine sources before leaving for Hong Kong. Singh reported that the situation in India was favourable for a revolution. In May 1914, the Canadian government refused to allow the 400 Indian passengers of the ship Komagata Maru to disembark at Vancouver . The voyage had been planned as an attempt to circumvent Canadian exclusion laws that effectively prevented Indian immigration. Before

4360-401: The Indian Independence League in Portland, Oregon . Khankhoje's works also brought him close to Indian nationalists in the United States at the time, including Tarak Nath Das. In the years preceding World War I, Khankhoje was one of the founding members of the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association, and subsequently founded the Ghadar Party. He was at the time one of the most influential members of

4469-585: The Indian revolutionary underground, notably that in Bengal, and the plans began to be consolidated by Rash Behari Bose and Jatin Mukherjee and the Ghadarites for a coordinated general uprising. Indian revolutionaries under Lokamanya Tilak 's inspiration, had turned Benares into a centre for sedition since the 1900s. Sundar Lal (b. 1885, son of Tota Ram, Muzaffarnagar) had given a very objectionable speech in 1907 on Shivaji Festival in Benares. Follower of Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai and Sri Aurobindo , in 1908 this man had accompanied Lala in his UP lecture tour. His organ,

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4578-431: The President Woodrow Wilson Lectureship for the discourse on the best means of acquiring and safe guarding national independence consistently with freedom, justice, and the right of asylum accorded to political refugees. It is said that the league rejected his offer due to political pressure from British government. A similar offer was made to the Swiss government which was also turned down. He offered another lectureship at

4687-466: The Raj's fears of a Ghadarite uprising in India especially Punjab in 1919. Mutiny During the Age of Discovery , mutiny particularly meant open rebellion against a ship's captain . This occurred, for example, during Ferdinand Magellan 's journeys around the world, resulting in the killing of one mutineer, the execution of another, and the marooning of others; on Henry Hudson 's Discovery , resulting in Hudson and others being set adrift in

4796-660: The SS Salamin in the second half of October 1914. Satyen and Pingle halted in China for a few days to meet the Gadhar leaders (mainly Tahal Singh) for future plans. They met Dr Sun Yat-sen for co-operation. Dr. Sun was not prepared to displease the British. After Satyen and party left for India, Tahal sent Atmaram Kapur, Santosh Singh and Shiv Dayal Kapur to Bangkok for necessary arrangements. In November, 1914, Pingle, Kartar Singh and Satyen Sen arrived in Calcutta. Satyen introduced Pingle and Kartar Singh to Jatin Mukherjee. "Pingle had long talks with Jatin Mukherjee, who sent them to Rash Behari" in Benares with necessary information during

4905-426: The Singapore unit, the mutiny was isolated and not linked to the conspiracy. Others deem this as instigated by the Silk Letter Movement which became intricately related to the Ghadarite conspiracy. Plans for revolt in the 26th Punjab, 7th Rajput, 24th Jat Artillery and other regiments did not go beyond the conspiracy stage. Planned mutinies in Firozpur , Lahore , and Agra were also suppressed and many key leaders of

5014-424: The Swiss government imposed political restrictions during the entire period of World War I . He kept in touch with his contacts, but he could not support them directly. He spent time with Dr. Briess, president of the Pro India Committee in Geneva, whom he later discovered was a paid secret agent of the British government. He offered a sum of 10,000 francs to the League of Nations to endow a lectureship to be called

5123-432: The United Congress of Democrats held at Holborn Town Hall as a delegate of the India Home Rule Society. His resolution on India received an enthusiastic ovation from the entire conference. Shyamji's activities in England aroused the concern of the British government: He was disbarred from Inner Temple and removed from the membership list on 30 April 1909 for writing anti-British articles in The Indian Sociologist . Most of

5232-411: The United States and to bring its members to trial increased considerably. The Hindu–German Conspiracy as a whole, as well as the intrigues of the Ghadar Party in Punjab during the war, were among the main stimuli for the enactment of the Defence of India Act , appointment of the Rowlatt Committee , and the enactment of the Rowlatt Acts . The Jallianwala Bagh massacre is also linked intimately with

5341-403: The United States dates back to the first decade of the 20th century, when, following the example of London's India House , similar organisations were opened in the United States and in Japan through the efforts of the then growing Indian student population in the country. Shyamji Krishna Varma , the founder of India House, had built close contacts with the Irish Republican movement . The first of

5450-485: The United States, Canada, and Asia. Ghadar meetings were held in Los Angeles, Oxford, Vienna, Washington, D.C., and Shanghai. Ghadar's ultimate goal was to overthrow British colonial authority in India by means of an armed revolution. It viewed the Congress -led mainstream movement for dominion status modest and the latter's constitutional methods as soft. Ghadar's foremost strategy was to entice Indian soldiers to revolt. To that end, in November 1913 Ghadar established

5559-450: The act of Parliament. The Mutiny Act 1873 was passed in this manner. Such matters remained until 1879 when the last Mutiny Act was passed and the last Articles of War were promulgated. The Mutiny Act legislated for offences in respect of which death or penal servitude could be awarded. Meanwhile, the Articles of War, while repeating those provisions of the act, constituted the direct authority for dealing with offences for which imprisonment

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5668-458: The administration of the act in many matters formerly dealt with by the Articles of War. These rules, however, must not be inconsistent with the provisions of the Army Act itself, and must be laid before parliament immediately after they are made. Thus in 1879, the government and discipline of the army became for the first time completely subject either to the direct action or the close supervision of Parliament. A further notable change took place at

5777-404: The assassination of the Commissioner of Plague by the Chapekar brothers but he soon decided to fight inside Britain for Indian independence. Ordained by Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya samaj, Shyamji Krishan Varma upon his arrival in London stayed at the Inner Temple and studied Herbert Spencer 's writings in his spare time. In 1900, he bought an expensive house in Highgate . He

5886-405: The banquet given by Press Association of Geneva where 250 journalists and celebrities, including the presidents of Swiss Federation and the League of Nations. Shyamji's offer was applauded on the spot but nothing came of it. Shyamji was disappointed with the response and he published all his abortive correspondence on this matter in the next issue of the Sociologist appearing in December 1920, after

5995-504: The commission of dacoities . Rash Behari planned collecting gangs of villagers for the rebellion. Simultaneous outbreaks at Lahore, Ferozepore & Rawalpindi were organised while risings at Dacca, Benares, and Jubbalpur would be further extended. Preparing bombs was a definite part of the Gadhar programme. The Sikh conspirators – knowing very little about it – decided to call in a Bengali expert, as they had known in California Professor Surendra Bose, associate of Taraknath Das . Towards

6104-438: The community. Faced with increasingly difficult situations, the community began organising itself into political groups. A large number of Punjabis also moved to the United States, but they encountered similar political and social problems. Meanwhile, nationalist work among Indians on the east coast began to gain momentum from around 1908 when Indian students of the likes of P S Khankhoje , Kanshi Ram , and Tarak Nath Das founded

6213-399: The conspiracy were arrested, although some managed to escape or evade arrest. A last-ditch attempt was made by Kartar Singh and Pingle to trigger a mutiny in the 12th Cavalry regiment at Meerut . Kartar Singh escaped from Lahore, but was arrested in Benares , and V. G. Pingle was apprehended from the lines of the 12th Cavalry at Meerut, in the night of 23 March 1915. He carried "ten bombs of

6322-443: The consulate in San Francisco. The incident derives its name from the North American Ghadar Party, whose members of the Punjabi community in Canada and the United States were among the most prominent participants in the plan. It was the most prominent amongst a number of plans of the much larger Hindu–German Mutiny , formulated between 1914 and 1917 to initiate a Pan-Indian rebellion against the British Raj during World War I. The mutiny

6431-412: The death sentence, 114 transported for life , and 93 awarded varying terms of imprisonment. A number of these were sent to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman . Forty-two defendants in the trial were acquitted. The Lahore trial directly linked the plans made in United States and the February mutiny plot. Following the conclusion of the trial, diplomatic effort to destroy the Indian revolutionary movement in

6540-511: The deaths of forty-seven British soldiers and local civilians. The mutineers also released the interned crew of the SMS Emden . The mutiny was only put down after French, Russian and Japanese ships arrived with reinforcements. Of nearly two hundred tried at Singapore, forty-seven were shot in a public execution,. Most of the rest were deported for life or given jail terms ranging between seven and twenty years. Some historians, including Hew Strachan , argue that although Ghadar agents operated within

6649-495: The end of December 1914, at a meeting at Kapurthala , Pingle announced that a Bengali babu was ready to co-operate with them. On 3 January 1915, Pingle and Sachindra in Amritsar received Rs 500 from the Ghadar, and returned to Benares. Pingle returned to Calcutta with Rash Behari's invitation to the Jugantar leaders to meet him at Benares for co-ordinating and finalising their plans. Jatin Mukherjee, Atulkrishna Ghosh , Naren Bhattacharya left for Benares (early January 1915). In

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6758-420: The exile of a number of others. After the end of the war, fear of a second Ghadarite uprising led to the passage of the Rowlatt Act , followed by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre . World War I began with an unprecedented outpouring of loyalty and goodwill towards the United Kingdom from within the mainstream political leadership. Contrary to initial British fears of an Indian revolt, India contributed massively to

6867-411: The first non- Brahmin to receive the prestigious title of Pandit by the Pandits of Kashi in 1877. He came to the attention of Monier Williams , an Oxford professor of Sanskrit who offered Shyamji a job as his assistant. Shyamji arrived in England and joined Balliol College , Oxford on 25 April 1879 with the recommendation of Professor Monier Williams . Passing his B.A. in 1883, he presented

6976-422: The forces in the kingdom, but apart from and in no respect affected the principle acknowledged all this time that the crown of its mere prerogative could make laws for the government of the army in foreign countries in time of war. The Mutiny Act 1803 effected a great constitutional change in this respect: the power of the Crown to make any Articles of War became altogether statutory, and the prerogative merged in

7085-445: The gap between the intellectual agitators and the predominantly Punjabi labour workers and migrants, laying the foundations of the Ghadar movement . The Pacific coast of North America saw large scale Indian immigration in the 1900s, especially from Punjab which was facing an economic depression . The Canadian government met this influx with a series of legislations aimed at limiting the entry of South Asians into Canada, and restricting

7194-496: The garrison at Fort William in Calcutta. In August 1914, Mukherjee's group had seized a large consignment of guns and ammunition from the Rodda company, a major gun manufacturing firm in India. In December, a number of politically motivated armed robberies to obtain funds were carried out in Calcutta. Mukherjee kept in touch with Rash Behari Bose through Kartar Singh and V.G. Pingle. These rebellious acts, which were until then organised separately by different groups, were brought into

7303-541: The global Indian movement, such that Free Hindustan , a political revolutionary journal published by Tarak Nath Das closely mirroring The Indian Sociologist , moved from Vancouver and Seattle to New York in 1908. Das collaborated extensively with the Gaelic American with help from George Freeman before Free Hindustan was proscribed in 1910 under British diplomatic pressure. After 1910, the American east coast activities began to decline and gradually shifted to San Francisco. The arrival of Har Dayal around this time bridged

7412-540: The government tried to arrest him. He arrived in Paris in early 1907 to continue his work. The British government tried to have him extradited from France without success as he gained the support of many top French politicians. Shyamji's name was dragged into the sensational trial of Mr Merlin, an Englishman, at Bow Street Magistrates' Court, for writing an article in liberators published by Shyamji's friend, Mr. James. Shyamji's work in Paris helped gain support for Indian Independence from European countries. He agitated for

7521-436: The higher leadership of the Ghadar Party . Pingle had known Satyen Bhushan Sen ( Jatin Mukherjee 's emissary) in the company of Gadhar members (such as Kartar Singh Sarabha ) at the University of Berkeley. Tasked to consolidate contact with the Indian revolutionary movement , as part of the Ghadar Conspiracy , Satyen Bhushan Sen, Kartar Singh Sarabha , Vishnu Ganesh Pingle and a batch of Sikh militants sailed from America by

7630-399: The history of English military law up to 1879 may be divided into three periods, each having a distinct constitutional aspect: (I) prior to 1689, the army, being regarded as so many personal retainers of the sovereign rather than servants of the state, was mainly governed by the will of the sovereign; (2) between 1689 and 1803, the army, being recognised as a permanent force, was governed within

7739-582: The inflammatory passions surrounding the Komagata Maru incident as a rallying point and successfully brought many disaffected Indians in North America into the party's fold. By October 1914, a large number of Ghadarites had returned to India and were assigned tasks like contacting Indian revolutionaries and organisations, spreading propaganda and literature, and arranging to get arms into the country that were being arranged to be shipped in from United States with German help. The first group of 60 Ghadarites led by Jawala Singh, left San Francisco for Canton aboard

7848-427: The intention of overthrowing or resisting authority; or (ii)disobeys authority in such circumstances as to subvert discipline; (b)he agrees with at least one other person subject to service law to overthrow or resist authority; or (c)he agrees with at least one other person subject to service law to disobey authority, and the agreed disobedience would be such as to subvert discipline. The same definition applies in

7957-420: The late Dayananda Saraswati , the founder of Arya Samaj , along with another four fellowships in the future. In 1905, Shyamji focused his activity as a political propagandist and organiser for the complete independence of India. Shyamji made his debut in Indian politics by publishing the first issue of his English monthly, The Indian Sociologist , an organ and of political, social and religious reform . This

8066-476: The legislature, but by articles of war similar to those issued by the king and authorized by an ordinance of the Lords and Commons exercising in that respect the sovereign prerogative. This power of law-making by prerogative was however held to be applicable during a state of actual war only, and attempts to exercise it in times of peace were ineffectual. Subject to this limitation, it existed for considerably more than

8175-444: The main coordinators of the attempted mutiny in February 1915. Under Rash Behari, Pingle issued intensive propaganda for revolution from December 1914, sometimes disguised as Shyamlal, a Bengali; sometimes Ganpat Singh, a Punjabi. Confident of being able to rally the Indian sepoy , the plot for the mutiny took its final shape. The 23rd Cavalry in Punjab was to seize weapons and kill their officers while on roll call on 21 February. This

8284-481: The military arsenal at Mian Meer, near Lahore and initiate a general uprising on 15 November 1914. In another plan, a group of Sikh soldiers, the manjha jatha , planned to start a mutiny in the 23rd Cavalry at the Lahore cantonment on 26 November. A further plan called for a mutiny to start on 30 November from Ferozepur under Nidham Singh. In Bengal, the Jugantar, through Jatin Mukherjee , established contacts with

8393-445: The military law of England. The act contained a proviso saving the right of the crown to make Articles of War, but in such a manner as to render the power in effect a nullity by enacting that no crime made punishable by the act shall be otherwise punishable by such articles. As the punishment of every conceivable offence was provided, any articles made under the act could be no more than an empty formality having no practical effect. Thus

8502-651: The nationalist organisations was the Pan-Aryan Association, modelled after Krishna Varma's Indian Home Rule Society , opened in 1906 through the joint Indo-Irish efforts of S.L. Joshi and George Freeman . The American branch of the association also invited Madame Cama—who at the time was close to the works of Krishna Varma—to give a series of lectures in the United States. An "India House" was founded in Manhattan in New York in January 1908 with funds from

8611-560: The next day (which would have been cancelled if Punjab was seized) and was to strike immediately. By the start of 1915, a large number of Ghadarites (nearly 8,000 in the Punjab province alone by some estimates) had returned to India. However, they were not assigned a central leadership and begun their work on an ad hoc basis. Although some were rounded up by the police on suspicion, many remained at large and began establishing contacts with garrisons in major cities like Lahore , Ferozepur and Rawalpindi . Various plans had been made to attack

8720-728: The party. He met Lala Har Dayal in 1911. He also enrolled at one point in a West Coast military academy. The Ghadar Party, initially the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association, was formed in 1913 in the United States under the leadership of Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna as its president. It drew members from Indian immigrants , largely from Punjab . Many of its members were also from the University of California at Berkeley including Dayal, Tarak Nath Das , Kartar Singh Sarabha and V. G. Pingle . The party quickly gained support from Indian expatriates, especially in

8829-719: The pattern used in the attempt to assassinate Lord Hardinge in Delhi," according to Bombay police report. It is said that it was enough to blow up an entire regiment. Mass arrests followed as the Ghadarites were rounded up in Punjab and the Central Provinces . Rash Behari Bose escaped from Lahore and in May 1915 fled to Japan. Other leaders, including Giani Pritam Singh , Swami Satyananda Puri and others fled to Thailand or other sympathetic nations. Other related events include

8938-552: The political rights of those already in the country. The Punjabi community had hitherto been an important loyal force for the British Empire and the Commonwealth , and the community had expected, to honour its commitment, equal welcome and rights from the British and Commonwealth governments as extended to British and white immigrants. These legislations fed growing discontent, protests and anti-colonial sentiments within

9047-425: The position of Diwan of Junagadh State. He resigned in 1897 after a bitter experience with a British agent that shook his faith in British rule in India. Having read Satyarth Prakash and other books of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Shyamji Krishna Varma was very much impressed with his philosophy, writings and spirit of Nationalism and had become one of his ardent admirers. It was upon Dayanand's inspiration, he set up

9156-464: The protected cruiser HMCS Rainbow and returned to India. On reaching Calcutta , the passengers were detained under the Defence of India Act at Budge Budge by the British Indian government, which made efforts to forcibly transport them to Punjab. This caused rioting at Budge Budge and resulted in fatalities on both sides. A number of Ghadar leaders, like Barkatullah and Tarak Nath Das, used

9265-507: The punishment of desertion, which was made a felony by statute in the reign of Henry VI , these ordinances or Articles of War remained almost the sole authority for enforcing discipline until 1689. That year, the first Mutiny Act was passed and the military forces of the crown were brought under the direct control of Parliament. Even the Parliamentary forces in the time of Charles I and Oliver Cromwell were governed not by an act of

9374-402: The realm by statute and without it by the prerogative of the crown; and (3) from 1803 to 1879, it was governed either directly by statute or by the sovereign under an authority derived from and defined and limited by statute. Although in 1879 the power of making Articles of War became in effect inoperative, the sovereign was empowered to make rules of procedure, having the force of law, to regulate

9483-674: The release of Savarker and acquired great support all over Europe and Russia. Guy Aldred wrote an article in the Daily Herald under the heading of "Savarker the Hindu Patriot whose sentences expire on 24 December 1960", helping create support in England, too. In 1914 his presence became an embarrassment as French politicians had invited King George V to Paris to set a final seal on the Entente Cordiale . Shyamji foresaw this and shifted his headquarters to Geneva . Here

9592-600: The returned Gadharites and the revolutionaries led by Rash Behari, and a large section of soldiers in the NW were obviously disaffected." "It was expected that as soon as the signal was received there would be mutinies and popular risings from Punjab to Bengal." "48 out of the 81 accused in the Lahore conspiracy case, including Rash Behari's close associates like Pingle, Mathura Singh & Kartar Singh Sarabha, recently arrived from North America." Along with Rash Behari Bose , Sachin Sanyal and Kartar Singh Sarabha , Pingle became one of

9701-402: The same time. The Mutiny Act had been brought into force on each occasion for one year only, in compliance with the constitutional theory: that the maintenance of a standing army in time of peace, unless with the consent of parliament, is against law. Each session therefore the text of the act had to be passed through both Houses clause by clause and line by line. The Army Act, on the other hand,

9810-483: The ship reached Vancouver, its approach was announced on German radio, and British Columbian authorities were prepared to prevent the passengers from entering Canada. The incident became a focal point for the Indian community in Canada which rallied in support of the passengers and against the government's policies. After a 2-month legal battle, 24 of them were allowed to immigrate. The ship was escorted out of Vancouver by

9919-605: The steamship Korea on 29 August. They were to sail on to India, where they would be provided with arms to organise a revolt. At Canton, more Indians joined, and the group, now numbering about 150, sailed for Calcutta on a Japanese vessel. They were to be joined by more Indians arriving in smaller groups. During the September–October time period, about 300 Indians left for India in various ships like SS Siberia , Chinyo Maru , China , Manchuria , SS  Tenyo Maru , SS Mongolia and SS Shinyo Maru . The SS Korea ' s party

10028-413: The task. In 1879, a measure was passed into law consolidating in one act both the Mutiny Act and the Articles of War, and amending their provisions in certain important respects. This measure was called the Army Discipline and Regulation Act 1879. After one or two years of experience highlighted the need for improvement, it was superseded by the Army Act 1881, which formed the foundation and main portion of

10137-578: The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi agreed to repatriate the ashes. Finally on 22 August 2003, the urns of ashes of Shyamji and his wife Bhanumati were handed over to then Chief Minister of Gujarat State Narendra Modi by the Ville de Genève and the Swiss government 55 years after Indian Independence . They were brought to Mumbai and after a long procession throughout Gujarat, they reached Mandvi, his birthplace. A memorial called Kranti Teerth dedicated to him

10246-605: The third week of December. Satyen remained in Calcutta at 159 Bow Bazar [Street]. Tegart was informed of an attempt to tamper with some Sikh troops at the Dakshineswar gunpowder magazine. "A reference to the Military authorities shows that the troops in question were the 93rd Burmans" sent to Mesopotamia. Jatin Mukherjee and Satyen Bhushan Sen were seen interviewing these Sikhs. The Ghadarites rapidly established contact with

10355-613: The threat of the mutiny led to a number of important war-time measures introduced in India, including the passages of the Foreigners Ordinance, 1914, the Ingress into India Ordinance, 1914 , and the Defence of India Act 1915 . The conspiracy was followed by the First Lahore Conspiracy Trial and Benares Conspiracy Trial which saw death sentences awarded to a number of Indian revolutionaries, and

10464-498: Was an assertive, ideological monthly aimed at inspiring mass opposition to British rule, which stimulated many intellectuals to fight for the independence of India. On 18 February 1905, Shyamji inaugurated a new organisation called The Indian Home Rule Society . The first meeting, held at his Highgate home, unanimously decided to found The Indian Home Rule Society with the object of: As many Indian students faced racist attitudes when seeking accommodations, he founded India House as

10573-555: Was back in Amritsar with "the fat babu" (Rash Behari); to avoid too many visitors, Rash Behari moved to Lahore after a fortnight. In both the places he collected materials for making bombs and ordered for 80 bomb cases to a foundry at Lahore. Its owner out of suspicion refused to execute the order. Instead, inkpots were used as cases in several of the dacoities. Completed bombs were found during house searches, while Rash Behari escaped. "By then effective contact had been established between

10682-867: Was born on 4 October 1857 in Mandvi , Cutch State (now Kutch , Gujarat ) as Shamji, the son of Krushnadas Bhanushali (Karsan Nakhua; Nakhua is the surname while Bhanushali is the community name), a labourer for cotton press company, and Gomatibai, who died when Shyamji was only 11 years old. He was raised by his grandmother. His ancestors came from Bhachunda (23°12'3"N 69°0'4"E), a village now in Abdasa taluka of Kutch district. They had migrated to Mandvi in search of employment and due to familial disputes. After completing secondary education in Bhuj , he went to Mumbai for further education at Wilson High School. Whilst in Mumbai, he learned Sanskrit . In 1875, he married Bhanumati,

10791-401: Was built and inaugurated in 2010 near Mandvi . Spread over 52 acres, the memorial complex houses a replica of India House building at Highgate along with statues of Shyamji Krishna Varma and his wife. Urns containing Krishna Verma's ashes, those of his wife, and a gallery dedicated to earlier activists of Indian independence movement is housed within the memorial. Krishna Verma was disbarred from

10900-481: Was injured, but not killed. During World War I, the British Indian Army contributed significantly to the British war effort. Consequently, a reduced force, estimated to have been as low as 15,000 troops in late 1914, was stationed in India. It was in this scenario that concrete plans for organising uprisings in India were made. In September 1913, Mathra Singh, a Ghadarite, visited Shanghai and promoted

11009-404: Was inspired by Spencer's writings. At Spencer's funeral in 1903, he announced the donation of £1,000 to establish a lectureship at University of Oxford in tribute to him and his work. A year later he announced that Herbert Spencer Indian fellowships of Rs.2,000 each were to be awarded to enable Indian graduates to finish their education in England. He announced additional fellowship in memory of

11118-660: Was not required by the European Convention on Human Rights , since Protocol 6 of the Convention permitted the death penalty in time of war, and Protocol 13, which prohibits the death penalty for all circumstances, did not then exist. The government introduced section 21(5) as a late amendment in response to parliamentary pressure. The United States ' Uniform Code of Military Justice defines mutiny thus: U.S. military law requires obedience only to lawful orders. Disobedience to unlawful orders (see Superior orders )

11227-679: Was planned to start in the key state of Punjab , followed by mutinies in Bengal and rest of India. Indian units as far as Singapore were planned to participate in the rebellion. The plans were thwarted through a coordinated intelligence and police response. British intelligence infiltrated the Ghadarite movement in Canada and in India, and last-minute intelligence from a spy helped crush the planned uprising in Punjab before it started. Key figures were arrested, and mutinies in smaller units and garrisons within India were also crushed. Intelligence about

11336-563: Was significant enough to nearly paralyse the regional administration. Also, from the beginning of the war, an expatriate Indian population, notably from the United States, Canada, and Germany, headed by the Berlin Committee and the Ghadar Party, attempted to trigger insurrections in India along the lines of the 1857 uprising with Irish Republican , German and Turkish help in a massive conspiracy that has since come to be called

11445-551: Was successful in preventing further attempts. American intelligence agencies arrested key figures in the aftermath of the Annie Larsen affair in 1917. The conspiracy led to criminal conspiracy trials like the Lahore Conspiracy Case trial in India and the Hindu–German Conspiracy Trial in the United States, the latter being the longest and most expensive trial in the country at that date. The conspiracy led to

11554-496: Was the maximum punishment, as well as with many matters relating to trial and procedure. The act and the articles were found not to harmonize in all respects. Their general arrangement was faulty, and their language sometimes obscure. In 1869, a royal commission recommended that both should be recast in a simple and intelligible shape. In 1878, a committee of the House of Commons endorsed this view and made recommendations for performing

11663-559: Was to be followed by mutiny in the 26th Punjab, which was to be the signal for the uprising to begin, resulting in an advance on Delhi and Lahore. The Bengal cell was to look for the Punjab Mail entering the Howrah Station the next day (which would have been cancelled if Punjab was seized) and was to strike immediately. However, the Punjab CID successfully infiltrated the conspiracy at the last moment through Kirpal Singh :

11772-450: Was to be followed by mutiny in the 26th Punjab, which was to be the signal for the uprising to begin, resulting in an advance on Delhi and Lahore. The Bengal revolutionaries contacted the Sikh troops stationed at Dacca through letters of introduction sent by Sikh soldiers of Lahore, and succeeded in winning them over. The Bengal cell was to look for the Punjab Mail entering the Howrah Station

11881-587: Was uncovered and arrested on arrival at Calcutta. In spite of this, a successful underground network was established between the United States and India, through Shanghai, Swatow , and Siam . Tehl Singh, the Ghadar operative in Shanghai, is believed to have spent $ 30,000 for helping the revolutionaries to get into India. Amongst those who returned were Vishnu Ganesh Pingle , Kartar Singh , Santokh Singh , Pandit Kanshi Ram , Bhai Bhagwan Singh , who ranked amongst

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