[indistinct screaming]
[After the Jallianwala Bagh massacre]
- So this is the lane, is it? - It is, sir.
It happened here, sir.
She was pushed off her bike
and assaulted here.
[screams]
So this is where Ms. Sherwood was attacked and left to die?
And all of you...
watched her being assaulted from the safety of your homes.
This place where she fell,
this is now sacred ground.
And sacred ground may be crossed only on your knees.
That is how every single one of you will now traverse this spot.
Have barricades put up on both ends of this lane.
From now on, every Indian who wishes to cross this lane,
will do so on their knees.
It's time we taught Indians how to respect our women.
[Today, 12th December]
The wounds of Jallianwala Bagh had not yet healed,
but this wasn't the end of General Dyer's punishments.
He was ready to make the entire city pay for the 10th of April.
Next day, under the excuse of Martial Law,
General Dyer started wreaking havoc.
[soldiers marching]
[Kantilal] People were arrested.
They were forced.
Statements,
fake testimonies,
people were tortured.
[Man] We were handcuffed,
bound in shackles.
Two men in a single handcuff. [sound of a whip]
[Man] They would make us run under the scorching sun for hours.
[sounds of being whipped]
We weren't allowed to eat or sleep for three days straight.
The lassi here in Amritsar,
this is worth killing for.
Let me arrange a glass or two for you?
When they arrested me, I said, I am innocent.
Let me go.
My father is sick.
First, they tortured me. Then kept me in jail for a week.
When I went back home...
my father had passed away.
I was told if I testify
seeing Mohammad Amin attacking Dr. Innis,
then I will be rewarded.
But I did not listen to them.
I did not lie.
[clapping]
[Today, 12th December] Gentlemen,
I would like to know,
a man who mercilessly ordered to fire on people,
killed women and children,
what is the people's opinion about that General Dyer.
Some say...
General Dyer's orders to open fire was right.
[crowd] What is he saying?
He should be hanged and beaten with shoes.
[Hunter] Quiet! Sit!
A tribute to General Dyer.
The man who saved India.
But General Dyer got an even bigger reward.
The Lieutenant Governor of Punjab,
Michael O' Dwyer,
gave a pat on his back.
[crowd murmurs]
What could be a greater reward than a pat on the back
by the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, Michael O' Dwyer?
But I want to know General Dyer's opinion about himself.
What does General Dyer see when he looks in the mirror?
A murderer?
Or a hero of the British Empire?
He's a murderer!
[crowd] A murderer.
There was no limit to General Dyer's brutality.
It wasn't just innocent people,
but also their identities which General Dyer crushed under his feet.
[Gurkha] Where are you going?
Sir, there is a temple in the center of the lane.
It's time for the evening prayer.
With your permission...
Sir, this man wants to go to the temple.
Stop there.
You can't walk.
General Dyer's orders.
Gurung, come here.
Show him how to do it.
Show him.
[Kantilal] I'll hold it.
Gurung, enough.
Sir.
Sir, like this?
Yes.
Kanti, what are they saying?
- Wait a second. - They're telling me to crawl.
Officer.
Officer Plomer,
he's just a priest.
He just needs to go till the temple.
The temple.
He is old. Who's this?
Sir, this is my friend's wife.
She wants to go home.
- Go home. - Good.
- She's... pregnant. - Is she? Good. Good.
They can keep each other company as they crawl.
Sir...
- Sir, I've... - These are General Dyer's orders.
- I understand. - If I were you, I'd obey.
- [Poonam] Brother... - I understand orders, sir.
- Let it be, Brother. - Just one second, Sister.
I've worked in England. London, in fact.
I've studied the law there.
And I've worked under Professor Lord Underhill as well.
- Lord Underhill. - Yes.
Blimey!
Oh, you must be good.
- Sir, I-- - You know what,
seeing as you're so very good,
they can walk.
- Yeah, they can walk. - Thank you. Thank you, sir.
As long as you take their place.
And crawl.
Someone has to crawl, I don't really care who.
Someone needs to show this lot.
Come then.
On your knees and crawl.
Leave it, Brother.
- No, wait a second. - It's okay, I'll do it.
Think about your child. It's alright. It's alright.
No, no. Not like a dog.
Like a worm.
It's peanuts.
Come on.
Good boy.
Oh, roll up your sleeves.
Good, man.
Nice.
That's it. More.
Good, man.
- Stop right there. - One second.
Stay there.
That's it. Did Lord Underhill train you for this?
[mud pots cracking]
Come on.
Mr. Lawyer.
- Brother Kanti. - Stop.
Oh, come on. Ms. Sherwood spilled far more blood than that.
Why have we stopped?
I can make her crawl as well.
Brother Kanti.
[Kanti winces]
- Come on, you got a very long way to go. - I'm okay.
[tense music]
Close that door.
[tense music continues]
[Man 1] Sir, my wife was unwell.
There were no doctors to treat her.
No doctor was ready to come crawling.
For seven days...
my wife didn't receive any treatment.
And she died.
[tense music builds]
- [A few days after the massacre] - [Kantilal] My dear Professor Underhill.
As I sit down to respond to your last letter,
I am overwhelmed by the need to draw your attention
to a matter of grave concern.
One that the world seems to have turned a blind eye to.
Even as its aftershocks continue to traumatize our lives.
British officer, Brigadier General Reginald Dyer,
in an inexplicable display of savagery,
ordered his troops to open fire on this unarmed,
peacefully amassed crowd.
This horrifying act of violence claimed the lives of hundreds of Indians.
I implore you, dear Professor,
to use your influence and voice to shine light
on General Dyer's brutal action.
And turn the world's attention towards the shooting at Jallianwala Bagh.
The blood of Amritsar's innocent won't wash away so easily.
But pinning accountability and delivering justice
will bring some peace to both, the dead and the bereaved of the city.
I remain your earnest student.
Kantilal Sahni.
To the managing editor of The Afternoon Post.
Dear Marty, A matter of utmost importance
and urgency, caused me to write.
I urge you to help bring this incident to light,
so the truth that is being suppressed in Punjab,
can reach the eyes and ears of the well-meaning British public.
Dear Lawrence,
It has come to my attention, that a dastardly act of violence
has been perpetrated by an officer of the British Indian Army.
It is on us to bring the events of April to the notice of His Majesty's government
and fellow parliamentarians.
[Radio chatter] With details
of the Amritsar massacre slowly coming to light,
outrage is spreading in India as Indian nationalists
rise against British rule.
What's being seen as a slap in the Empire's face...
According to Nobel laureate, Rabindra Nath Tagore...
Dear Kanti,
After several weeks of persistent efforts,
I have garnered the support of other like-minded parliamentarians,
[Underhill] to raise the question of the severity of the measures used
in Jallianwala Bagh in the House of the Commons.
And the appointment of an impartial committee
to look into the Punjab disturbances seems imminent.
[Girdharlal] The Disorders Inquiry Committee is to be chaired by Lord Hunter.
The members of the committee shall comprise of Kantilal Sahni,
of Amritsar court.
Bravo.
Kantilal Sahni...
son of Munshi Girdharlal Sahni,
and Janki Devi.
Bravo.
It's the result of your hard work and God's grace.
Come. Seek blessings.
[The first day of the Commission]
[Teju] Uncle Kanti.
Use all your might to challenge the British.
Thank you, Dilpreet.
Let's go.
Brother Kanti, when I learned
you're going to get justice for the Jallianwala Bagh incident,
- I canceled all my morning rides. - Where's your handkerchief?
Handkerchief...
I'll give you a ride every morning, and back in the evening.
Don't worry about the fare.
We'll handle that.
- Thank you. - Absolutely.
For my sake, Kanti.
You must bring that monster to justice,
who made our city bleed.
Don't worry.
Come, let's go. It's getting late.
Father.
God bless you.
Today is the first day of the commission, son.
It's a huge opportunity to carve a niche among the British,
leave no stone unturned.
Father.
Handkerchief.
Oh!
Go on.
Careful.
- God bless you. - Let's go.
Come on.
[vendors shouting]
Kanti.
Ahmed.
- Stop, Ahmed. - Are you okay?
Stop. Stop.
All good, Grandma?
Make this land proud.
- Don't worry. - Make it proud.
Make it proud.
See you, Grandma.
Tread carefully.
Take care.
[Poonam] The British government under pressure.
They must answer to the commission.
Amritsar's Kantilal Sahni is part of the committee.
- What do you think of the news? - Great.
It is good news, that's why I ordered sweets for you.
Here.
- Rameez, bring some water. - Have a sweet.
Do you like it?
Fabulous.
Hari would have been overjoyed for you.
He would be dancing on the streets after reading this news.
Here you go, brother Allahbaksh. Have a sweet.
It's good news. Have some.
- Your hands are covered in ink. - It's created a sensation all over London.
Do you understand?
For everything that happened in the bagh,
the Britishers will be held accountable.
Accountable?
The British own the accounts book. They own the accountant.
Even the ones doing due diligence.
Don't expect full transparency, sister.
What're you trying to say? It's all a farce?
Why do the British have to put up a farce?
They could've ignored the events of April.
- Am I right, sister? - Yes.
Rabindranath Tagore gave up his knighthood.
People are raising questions in the British Parliament.
Do you know why is it happening?
- Because this has created a stir. - Kanti...
- I wrote dozens of letters to Lord Underhill. - Kanti...
And finally, this commission was formed to find out...
who murdered the Indians.
So he can be brought to justice.
The victor of the ongoing war in Europe
will call for a conference.
Paris Peace Conference.
[Allahbaksh] The victorious country will sign a peace treaty with Germany.
Britain is giving the message of peace to the world
in the Paris Peace Conference.
And if the world finds out
about the massacre in their own colony,
and that they opened fire on Indians,
how will the British government face the world?
You think the commission was formed because of your letters?
Or because of Tagore's knighthood?
This is just their effort to clean their image.
A whitewash.
- All I am trying to say-- - You're not saying anything.
You're out to find the truth through this commission.
Only one hunter will control the entire commission.
Lord Hunter.
This is just drama.
This commission, will uncover the truth and justice.
We'll see.
- We'll see. - You can see too... if you can.
Mr. Lawyer, rose water does not cure cataracts.
As a part of this commission, I am trying to find the truth.
What are you doing?
Printing news?
You can print the truth if you find it.
Come here.
The truth of the blood spilled in Jallianwala Bagh,
cannot be found in the court.
The truth is on the streets of this city.
Let's make a bet
on who finds the truth first.
You or me?
You're on.
I haven't opened it yet.
I am obliged.
If I win this bet...
then you will take it back.
But if you win...
You will write the headlines that day...
with this pen.
Promise.
[Today, 12th December]
Lord Hunter,
as I was telling you,
how and why the Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred.
News had spread all over the city on 12th April,
about the meeting, on 13th April in Jallianwala Bagh.
As Ram Singh told us one month ago. [One month ago] Ram Singh.
When did you find out about the meeting in Jallianwala Bagh on 13th April?
On the evening of 12th April.
Hans Raj told everyone at the tea shop,
[Ram Singh] there'd be a meeting at four the next evening at the Jallianwala Bagh.
Hans Raj told us to inform everyone.
And we spread the news throughout the city.
And they knew about it since the evening of 12th April.
But General Dyer said...
It was about 12:40 on the afternoon of April the 13th.
I was having lunch with Inspector Jaspal Singh.
He informed me about the meeting.
When the entire city knew
about a meeting on 13th April...
and they'd known about it since the evening of 12th April,
how did General Dyer find out about it 18 hours later, on the afternoon of April 13th?
[crowd murmurs]
If General Dyer says that he got to know about the meeting
on the 13th April at 12:40 pm.
Then Lord Hunter, I'd like to call my next witness.
Telegraph Master Finley, please take the stand.
[exciting music]
Mr. Finley, what did you do on the 13th of April?
I was at my post in the office.
At 08:55,
Inspector Ashraf Khan entered the office.
And he explained to us that he was under direct orders from General Dyer
to locate all British citizens in Amritsar
and relocate them to Civil Lines.
I don't want any British civilians left behind in the city.
Bring them back to the Civil Lines to ensure their safety.
Mr. Finley, did he mention General Dyer by name?
Yes, he showed me a copy of the order.
And the order was to take British lives to Civil Lines?
Keep them safe?
Yes, for their safety.
For their own safety.
- Yes, sir. - And just to clarify,
this was on the morning of the 13th of April, sir?
Yes, Mr. Sahni.
Thank you, Mr. Finley. You may take a seat.
Lord Hunter, on the morning of 13th April,
General Dyer issued orders to move all Britishers to Civil Lines.
Morning.
May I remind you,
General Dyer said, he found out about this meeting
at 12:40 in the afternoon.
So what drove him, on the morning of 13th April,
that he moved all the British citizens to Civil Lines?
That means, General Dyer knew about this meeting.
Before the 13th of April.
Which means, Lord Hunter,
General Dyer lied to this commission!
He lied!
- He lied in front of the commission. - Mr. Sahni.
Mr. Sahni!
Mr. Sahni.
Is this all just conjecture,
or do you have evidence to back it up?
I will soon get to the truth. Just bear with me, Lord Hunter.
I urge you to tread very, very carefully.
Yes, Lord Hunter.
In the past one month, we learned that the Indians address General Dyer
as the butcher of Amritsar,
and the Britishers call him the savior of the British Empire.
But we're yet to know
what the ringmaster who sent him to Amritsar,
saw in General Dyer.
Kantilal is a shrewd bugger.
He's used Telegraph Master Finley's testimony to show
Dyer knew all about the meeting in Jallianwala, well beforehand.
He basically called the General's bluff.
[Kantilal] In General Dyer,
he saw such a soldier
who could take orders.
A soldier who, without worrying about right and wrong,
was ready to do his duty.
Brutally.
It's just intelligent guesswork.
The lawyer has no proof.
Whatever General Dyer did,
he did it on someone else's orders.
He followed somebody else's orders.
[Kitchin] But he's circling General Dyer like a wolf.
God knows what other tricks he has up his sleeve.
[Kantilal] The ringmaster...
only sees General Dyer as a bullet fired from a gun.
If General Dyer is the bullet,
then who fired the gun?
[O' Dwyer] It appears the general's dug his own grave.
Perhaps it's time to make him a villain.
Lord Hunter, it would break the proud General's heart,
to know that he's a bloody nobody.
A nobody who took the lives of many Indians.
But on whose cue?
On whose orders? Who's the ringmaster? I want to know.
You mean, he takes the fall.
All I know is that he's about as useful as a spent cartridge.
Perhaps, you should be in the commission, Governor.
Perhaps, I should.
[fire roars]
Lord Hunter, since the past week this commission
has been trying to find the truth about the Jallianwala Bagh.
And my friend Allahbaksh was very close to the truth.
And what was the truth?
[A few days ago]
Teju, what are you doing?
Uncle Kanti, Uncle Allahbaksh told me to give you this.
- You're looking nice in the photo. - Am I?
I've found the key to set your voice free.
I've found the truth.
I won the bet.
Meet me tonight at the press lane.
As soon as possible.
Congratulations on winning your pen.
[pensive music]
[pensive music continues]
Allahbaksh?
[emotional music]
Allahbaksh.
Al...
[emotional music continues]
[suspenseful music]
[sad music]
[sad music continues]
[Allahbaksh] Sister?
Sister?
Yes?
I was thinking...
What is it?
Perhaps we should get a new machine.
New machine?
You know Diwali is around the corner.
Then Bhai Dooj.
And that machine needs repairs.
- It's broken down. - We'll rent it.
- What for? - For the office in Lahore.
As if we have an office in Lahore.
Not yet.
But Inquilaab
needs to reach Lahore.
Right.
And who will run the office in Lahore?
I will.
And this office?
The one who's been running it since six months.
Come on, it's not my cup of tea.
[happy music]
Poonam Aulakh, Editor.
- I can't do this. - Sister...
Hari always said,
important tasks should be assigned
to a woman neck-deep in work.
You'll take Inquilaab to new heights.
Moreover,
you needn't take pennies out of the cash box on Bhai Dooj.
From today, the cash box
and Inquilaab...
is all yours.
A gift from your little brother.
[Priest] May Allah accept our prayer.
[Song] ♪ A short life in this world ♪
♪ A short life in this world ♪
♪ A short life in this world Here then gone the next ♪
♪ Life is here then gone the next ♪
[Kanti grunts]
Where is everyone?
I knew it wouldn't be enough.
It's almost full.
Take a seat.
Yes.
Well,
you insist on lemonade.
It's a headache.
You're always cribbing.
You're picky as hell!
Never-ending demands.
Always complaining.
I forgot to get lemonade.
Cry all you want.
All you'll get is water
while Hari and I will have whiskey.
Do you know why?
Great ambiance.
In an ambiance like this
keep politics aside.
Hari,
cheers.
- I didn't do a thing. - Cheers.
No, thanks.
- Say it. - I won't.
[Hari chuckles]
- Well... - What is it?
- I'm lagging behind.
You always did.
Yes, you always did. Hari?
You guys fought and left me here.
A shrewd one, a brave-heart, and me!
An idiot!
You two had goals, what did I have?
Nothing.
You should've drilled some sense into me.
But no.
One died for revolution.
The other died to save a child. Does it make sense to die
over such trivial things?
Senseless!
Look at me.
I am alive.
Have a sip.
You...
You're printing news.
Who gives you those stories to print? I do.
Everything you printed was all thanks to me.
Don't start again.
Don't talk rubbish.
All your life you wanted
to start a printing press.
Got what you wanted?
Your revolution?!
Look.
Look at this.
You two are always with me.
Who knows when I might leave for London.
I'm no less than a Britisher!
I am British! Say it.
Let me see.
Look at Allahbaksh.
[Hari laughs]
Look at your photo. You've never smiled.
Say it, three friends...
Say it!
[steel glass clatters]
I'm no friend of yours.
- Don't say that. - No.
I have no right
to be in that photo with you.
I'm a traitor.
I didn't just betray you both
but the whole nation.
[Allahbaksh] Traitor to the nation?
What did you do?
What is the matter?
What is it?
What is the matter? Speak up.
I kept a secret from you two.
You asked me,
have I ever met...
Sidney Rowlatt?
I have.
Indefinite detention?
Nice touch.
You know, if it weren't for the color of your skin,
I would think you're British.
If it wasn't for the color of your skin,
I'd think you're British.
Nothing made me happier.
This black law...
Your favorite topic...
Rowlatt Act.
When it was being written,
many great lawyers were present in the room.
And their assistants.
But who was the biggest assistant in that room?
The most capable lawyer!
Your buddy.
Kantilal Sahni.
Why didn't you say this when I asked
whether you met Sidney Rowlatt or not, why didn't you say so?
Have you met him?
Sir Sidney Rowlatt in London.
The clauses in that black law
like indefinite detention,
no appeal...
were written by me.
- You? - Yes, I did.
You called yourself a traitor. You are one!
- You are a traitor. - Allahbaksh, sit down.
If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have news to print.
If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be at the bagh.
Forgive me, brothers.
I wasn't like you.
You'd made a wish on Ramnavmi for me to find my voice.
I did.
I've found my voice.
Now I shall speak.
Nobody can stop me.
I will do everything
to be worthy of your friendship. Everything!
[Kantilal] Guys, I will find the truth about this conspiracy.
Whatever it takes. That's my promise.
We were friends,
and forever will be.
Say it... three friends...
for life!
Three friends...
for life!
Three friends...
for life!