Source: File:
Sikh Temple Stockton, Calafornia (U.S.A.) 1912 One of the centres of Gadar
Activities.jpg, 2015. This Gurdwara, or Sikh temple, in Stockton, California, was one of the centres of activity in America in 1912.
[online] Available at:<http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Features/2014/06/28/The-Singapore-mutiny/> [Accessed: 20 February 2015].
i
With many loyal and
proud troops of Indian
Sepoy's fighting on
the European front,
Back in their
homeland, distrust of colonial
Rule had steadily
gathered momentum.
A situation had formed
from global status,
That had over
time, gathered assistance
Of others - to
include Irish republicans,
United States and
German countries -
Who all shared a belief
against the rule
Of the dominanting
British Empire.
Well before the
British Raj's creation made
For Queen
Victoria - within native states
And British
India, lay unrest - as in Sepoys
1850's mutiny,
formed from many factors.
For scores of
Indians this had never gone
Away - Despite
1914's faith and loyalty,
Punjab and Bengal
regions were centers
Of discontent -
where anti colonial feelings
Ran high - Although
one faction carried out
Peaceful
disobedience, others sought
An armed
revolution for Independence.
Indian expatriates
sought to prompt actions
Of insurrection -
as in Berlin Committee's
Cause For Indian
Independence by shared
Activity, within
America's Ghadar party.
With close
connections between India
And Canada an
event triggered a change
In May 1914 - ten
years before, economic
Needs saw a great
scale of immigration
From Punjab to
Pacific coast of America.
But Canadian
reaction of legislation limited
South Asians into
the country and made
Restrictions for
political rights of present
Residents - stirring
anti-colonial emotions.
Organisation
between India’s expatriates
Led to an Indian
Independence League
And to the Ghadar
Party from 1913 -
Ambitions of
raising an armed revolution
At British
authorities, took a step closer.
Organizers’
planned a hard-line strategy
For revolt amid all
Indian soldiers within
The British
Indian Army that had controlled
The Status quo - from
out of San Francisco
Came literature
in form of Free Hindustan
Journal, to stir Indian Sepoys to their side.
ii
In May 1914 an
incident happened to act
As Catalyst -
aboard SS Komagata Maru,
Punjabi Sikhs
sailed to Vancouver, Canada.
Yet ship's
passengers held in port for two
Months, until the
immigrants were forced
To return to
India and Calcutta - where
An act enforced
their transport onto Punjab.
From the resulting
riots at Budge Budge,
Ghadar leaders
used enflamed reactions -
Where deaths had
occurred on both sides -
A disaffected
Indian population emerged.
Yet India still assisted
the Europe's war as
British Raj in
raising 15000 Indian troops.
October 1914 -
the Indian Army of the 5th
Light Infantry
Regiment moved from Madras
To Singapore, replacing
the Yorkshire Light
Infantry, sent to
the French Front - thus Indian
Leaders began their
revolution movements.
German assistance
started to build supplies
Of arms, as
ex-pat Ghadarites returned home.
From start of war
a figure Mahatma Gandhi
Extolled virtues
to fight for British Raj allies
As Indians were citizens
of the British Empire.
Thus thousands of
Indian volunteer men
Came forward, in
contrast to Ghadar brothers.
iii
Preparations
continued into January of 1915 -
Employing use of
inkpots in rebel bomb making -
Thus believing
the Sepoy forces would rally,
A unified
uprising was set 21 February 1915.
The plan for
Punjab, was for 23 Cavalry to seize
Weapons and kill
their officers - an uprising
Of the 26th
Punjabs would signal the mutiny.
This conspiracy
was to fail in later stages, with
A spy, Kirpal
Singh of the British Indian Army -
Recruited by
Punjab CID, gained connections.
He entered the
Headquarters at Mochi Gates,
On 15 February,
accessing information of date
And scale - Guessing
fact of a leak the event
Was brought sooner
to evening of 19 February.
While a last
minute change discovered that day
The Ghadar organisers
made no move to stop
Kirpal Singh, alerting
Liaqat Khan to changes -
The infiltrator returned
to prepare to signal when
The Rebels
assembled - The spy though, taken
And held, escapeed
under ploy of nature's call.
Fighting started
on the 15th February 1915 -
The capital of
Burma Rangoon, first saw 130th
Baluchi Regiment
attempt stopped - while in
Singapore the 5th
Light Infantry rebelled, with
Fifty percent of
troops and a hundred Sikh
Police - lasting
for seven days the mutiny was
Only stopped with
assistance from Japanese,
Russian and
French ships of reinforcements.
With propaganda
done, the scene was set
For 15 February
with Indian officers spreading
Ideas that Indian
soldiers were to be deployed
To europe - or possibly
to stand against Ottoman
Forces - the
Singapore Commander addressed
The sepoy
regiments’ farewell parade, whose
Destination of
Hong Kong was not yet stated.
Then at 3.30 p.m.
four out of eight companies
Rebelled, with
100 Sikh police - two British officers
Trying to restore
order were killed - breaking into
Three groups, the
rebels set on 10 British guards,
Breaking into Tanglin
Barracks to gain ammunition -
Where interned
German refused to help mutineers.
Descending onto
Keppel Harbour And Pasir
Panjang, the
Ghandar fighters shot 18 civilians -
As another group
blocked a route into Singapore,
With siege of
Colonel Martin Vice Admiral's house.
In
desperation Sir Martyn Jerram sent
a radio plea
Requesting help
of allied Warships in the vicinity.
With Martial Law
imposed, volunteer units of Malay,
Chinese and
British made deploy along with marines
From HMS Cadmus
and numbers of British regular
Troops. After two
days stand offs, three allied ships
Montcalm, the
Russian Orel, Otowa and Tsushima
Of Japan brought
reserves to the British numbers.
The rebellion lost
its direction, as most mutineers
Were dead or injured
- the ending by 20 February
Concluded with an
immediate enquiry - 47 British
Had been killed
by the finish, with mass arrests
And executions ending
this mutiny within the war.
by Jamie Mann.
Source: File: Ghadar Mutiny. From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia. [online]
Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghadar_Mutiny > [Accessed: 21 February 2015].
Source: File: Kirpal Singh (spy). From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia. [online]
Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirpal_Singh_%28spy%29> [Accessed: 21 February 2015].
Source: File: The
Singapore Mutiny – A Reclaimation, A documentary on 1915 Sepoy Mutiny of
Singapore. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at:
<https://singaporemutiny.wordpress.com/tag/mutiny/> [Accessed: 21
February 2015].
Source: File: The
Star (Malaysia) Report on Singapore Mutiny BY TAN YI LIANG. Published:
Saturday June 28, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM Updated: Monday June 30, 2014 MYT
11:26:35 AM. [online] Available at: <http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Features/2014/06/28/The-Singapore-mutiny/> [Accessed: 21 February 2015].
Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 21 February
2015).
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