GHADAR PARTY Was secular in character. Its aim was to overthrow the British rule by using force and free the Country from foreign Yoke. Ghadar Party was the popular name of the “Hindi Association of the Pacific Coast” which ran the newspaper “Ghadar”which was loved by every Indian. The original party from which “Hindi Association of the Pacific Coast” came into being the “Hindi Association” which was established in 1912, Ghadar Partycan be said to have the following as founders.
Sohan Singh Bhakna (President), Kesar Singh (Vice President), Lala Hardyal (General Secretary & Editor, Urdu Ghandar), Kartar Singh Sarabha (Editor, Punjabi Ghadar), Baba Jawala Singh (Vice President), Baba Waisakha Singh, Balwant Singh, Pt. Kanshi Ram (Treasurer), Harnam Singh Tundilat, .G.D. Verma, Lala Thaker Das (Dhuri) (Vice Secretary), Munshi Ram (Organizing Secretary), Bhai Parmanand, Nidhan Singh Chugha, Santokh Singh, Master Udham Singh, Baba ‘Hamam Singh (Kani Sari), Karim Bakhsh, Amar Chand, Rehmat Ali, V.G. Pingle among others.
Origin and Development
In Oregon State a meeting of the Indians was held in Portland in 1912 at which the Hindustani Association was formed which ultimately turned into Ghadar Party. Sohn Singh Bhakna and Bhai Udham Singh Kasel were laid off from their jobs and they went to Astoria (Oregon) to see their friend Bhai Kesar Singh.
There a branch of the party was opened with Bhai Skesar Singh, Munshi Karim Bakhsh and Shri Munshi Ram as President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Only five or six meetings were held when G.D. Kumar, who was to start an Urdu weekly paper “The India”, fell sick and the paper could not be started.
During this time Lala Thakar Dass (Dhuri) came to Portland to see Sohan Singh Bhakna and Kanshi Ram and advised them to send for Lala Hardyal and entrust to him the work of running the paper and Lala Hardyal also agreed to it. He however, along with Bhai Parmanand reached St. John (Oregon) in the last week of March, 1913.
A meeting of the Association was called and representatives from other cities were invited to attend. It was decided in the meeting that the Hindustani Association’s branches should be Headquartered at San Francisco (California) and a paper “Ghadar” be started in almost every language.
The word “Ghadar” (Revolt) was first used by the British Government of India for the 1857 revolt of the Indians against the foreign rulers and they used it out of hatred but the pioneers of the Party sanctified the word and used it out of love for the holy cause.
The office Headquarters of San Francisco was to be named as “Ghadar Ashram”or “Uganter Ashram”. And the party to be known as “Hindi Association of the Pacific Coast”. The other important decision of the meeting was to use force to over throw the foreign rule. The earlier aims of industrial and agricultural development and education and ending of foreign exploitation in India gave place to one single aim of ending foreign rule through force. Plans were also made to open branches in different cities.
Accordingly a branch in Bridwale (Oregon) was established in March 9, 1913 and Bhai Harnam Singh and Bhai Amar Singh (both of Kotla Naud Singh) were made secretary and Treasurer respectively of it. One branch was opened in Lynton (Oregon) on April 7, 1913 and another branch in Vina (Oregon) too, with Master Udham Singh Kasel as Secretary.
One important meeting was arranged in Astoria (Oregon) on April 21, 1913 in which delegates from all other branches attended and Kartar Singh Saraba also joined for the first time. At the end of the meeting the following resolution was adopted:
- The organization be named as “Hindi Association of the Pacific Coast
- The aim of the Association will be to end the British rule from India through violent means and armed rebel lion and to establish Republic based on freedom and equality;
- The Head office of the Association will be at San Francisco (California) which is a port and a center of rebels of foreign Countries;
- Association will publish a weekly paper “The Ghadar”, in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, and other languages; 5. The election of the Association will take place annually;
A branch of the “Hindi Association of Pacific Coast” was also established in Stockton (California). The basement of the Sikh Temple, Stockton was used for the meetings of the Association and discussions relating to the party.
Ghadari Babas started the Gurdwara (Temple) and they were the executive members of the Committee responsible for running it. The ranch of Baba Jawala Singh and Baba Wisakha Singh was being used for making bombs and giving necessary training in the use thereof. The arm of Harnam Singh Tundilot was cut off when a bomb exploded in the ranch. Their ranch was also the center of other activities of the party.
The branches of the party in other Countries:
In almost every Country there existed a branch or branches of the Ghadar Party. Whereas in the Countries, other than the British ruled, these were working openly, in the British ruled, these were working openly, in the British ruled Countries these were working underground:
It was also decided that the workers will get only food and clothing and no regular salary will be paid to them. The office bearers of the Association President Sohan Singh Bhakna, Vice PresidentBhai Kesar Singh, General SecretaryLala Thaker Dass(Dhuri), TreasurerPt. Kan shi Ram, Organizing SecretaryMunshi Ram
When the first issue of the “Ghadar” went into the hands of farmers of California with news of the meetings of the Indian workers of Oregon and Washington States, they also decided to join the new party. For this purpose the Indians of California called a big meeting in Sacra men to on December 31, 1913, in which 5 representative of the Central body were selected with the addition of one more VicePresident Baba Jawala Singh. The Cen tral Executive Committee were also elected as under,
Santokh Singh, Kartar Singh Cheema, Nidhan Singh, Wiskha Singh, Munshi Ram and Harnam Singh.
Party Commission was also finalized as under:
Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, Bhai Santokh Singh and Pt. Kanshi Ram.
The Ghadarites who had hurried homeward from America and other places were under the impression that the conditions in India were ripe for a revolution. But they were not correct in their estimation. The atmosphere in India was far from being conductive to a revolution. Indian National Congress was in sympathy with the British cause in the First World War; Mahatma Gandhi had volunteered for medical service; radicals like B.G. Tilak were not in favor of exploitation of the position created by war; the Sikh Political Party, the Chief Khalsa Diwan, had reiterated their loyalty to the Crown. The Punjabis were getting themselves recruited and fighting on the front.
Prayers were performed in Gurdwaras, Temples, and Mosques for the victory of the Britishers. Thus the Ghadaritesdid not get any help from its own people and instead they were looked upon with contempt. Secondly, when Ghadarleaders like Sohan Singh. Bhakna, Baba Jawala Singh, Baba Wiskha Singh, Kesar Singh etc, were arrested, the moment they placed their feet on the Indian soil, it broke the backbone of the party. Moreover the arms and ammunition which were to be received from outside Countries could not reach India just like the supply loaded from San Diego (California) on “Anlarson” was caught hold of on the way. In spite of all these untoward circumstances the Ghadaritesdid not lose heart and tried hard to spread the revolt.
Their efforts were mainly limited to attack government armory and treasury, to derail the trains, break the bridges, to loot the rich people to kill the informers and sympathizers for the government, etc. These were individualistic types of efforts. Karter Singh Saraba and other main Ghadaritesfelt the necessity of a leader who could centralize all the efforts.
So Shri Ras Behari Bose, a Bengali extremist was approached and requested to come to Punjab and lead the Ghadar movement. He came to the Punjab in January 1915.and made Amritsar (later Lahore) as the Head quarters of the revolt and directed the movement in accordance with the well drawn plan. He sent his agents to the cantonments of Ambala, Lahore, Ferozepur, Mee rut, Agra, Cawnpur, Allahabad, Benaras, Faisabad, Lucknow, Multan, Jehlum, Bannu, Kohat, Rawalpindi, Hoti Mardan, Peshawar, etc, to induce them to revolt and response of almost all of them was satisfactory. Everything was set right. The plan of revolt was however, base don’t he men of the 26th. Punjabi. Regimentstationed at Ferozpur the 23rd Caaly stationed at Mian Mir(Lahore) and’ military was expected 1 help from Meerut.
February 21, 1915 was fixed as the date for revolt but it was leaked to the British Government by a person named Kirpal Singh. Getting this information, Bose changed the date for revolt to February 19, 1915, i.e. two days earlier but that too got leaked through the same man and the British Government at once started arresting Ghadarites Leading the movement though Shri Sarat Behari Bose, slipped away to Benaras. Thus the revolution failed some Ghadarites were hanged, some of them were sentenced to life impoundment and properties of many were confiscated. The detailed list of all of them is attached hereto.
Provided the First World War had started four years later as was expected by the Ghadarites, they would have started the revolution on strong footing and many of the other causes of failure described above would have automatically vanished.
Still the Ghadar movement for freedom of the Country, India, has contributed a lot in the struggle of independence. It generated the sense of oneness among members of different communities and taught them how to work and die together for the common cause. The love of the Country acquired first place in the minds of people in general. This is evident from the sentence:
“If someone ask you, who are you, Tell them, oh,”Ghadari!” My land is Hindustan and I am Hindustani”
Indian National Army under Neta Ji, Subhas Chander Bose bears its influence also, wherein Hindu, Sikh and Muslims fought together against the Britishers and compelled them to think leave India. Thus the Ghadar movement brought the goal of freedom nearer.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 24, 1989
