[indistinct screaming]
[Today, 12th December]
[grim music]
My friend Allahbaksh was shot dead.
Why?
Because he was close to finding the truth?
What was that truth?
[Allahbaksh] The truth of the blood spilled in Jallianwala Bagh
cannot be found in the court. The truth is on the streets of this city.
What was he trying to tell me?
[A few days ago]
Okay. Print it properly. We have an order to deliver.
Mann Singh, I wanted to ask...
This pamphlet...
- was it printed here? - Yes.
But it's stained with blood...
Ignore it.
The British print all their pamphlets here.
Crafty buggers.
They print one pamphlet
and cyclostyle into thousands of copies.
Who does it for them?
Kanti, Allahbaksh was investigating this pamphlet three days ago.
Found it!
Hans Raj printed them on 12th April.
- Hans Raj? - Yes.
[suspenseful music]
What do you want?
Hans Raj's warehouse has been shut since two months.
- Two months? - Yes.
Aunty, uncle Hari brought you jasmine every day, right?
Four multiplied into three is?
- Twelve. - Write it.
Hans Raj's wife, Manjyot, goes to Dr. Innis for a check up.
I can ask the doctor.
Madam...
- One question. - Yes?
When did Manjyot last visit?
Why do you ask?
I haven't seen her in a while. Neither she nor Hans Raj.
Hello.
- That spot is dirty... - It's okay.
I had a question.
The day shots were fired at Jallianwala Bagh...
Yes?
- did you build that stage? - Yes, I did.
- Who ordered it? - Hans Raj.
Manjyot is a patient of mine.
Patient information in this hospital
is confidential. Goodbye.
Did you close the bagh's doors on 13th April?
Brother Kanti, I didn't know they will open fire.
So, I closed them.
Madam.
Rab rakha.
God bless.
Rab rakha.
- Manjyot came to me. - Yes, Madam.
When?
People leaving India for England have to produce a health certificate.
[Dr. Innis] Only then are they allowed on board the ships.
[ship's horn blowing]
That means...
she and Hans Raj,
have left the country.
One tea.
- Gurung. - Yes, sir.
Thank you.
You were there on 13th April, weren't you? With General Dyer.
- At Jallianwala Bagh? - Yes.
I was there too.
So was Hans Raj.
[lock breaking]
[Today, 12th December]
[Pamphlet : Proclamation]
[exciting music]
[Jaspal] There he is. Catch him.
[gunshot]
Lord Hunter, this pamphlet was in Allahbaksh's hands.
It bears the stamp of the British Government.
To show you its connection to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre,
let me shed some light on the events of 11th of April.
Let me remind you, two officers arrived on the evening of 11th April.
[Kantilal] One was General Dyer,
the other was Colonel Morgan.
Colonel Morgan mentioned a month ago. [One month ago]
I was summoned to the divisional office on the 11th evening,
where Major General Beynon
showed me a telegram he received from Commissioner--
I can confirm I have the telegram right here, Lord Hunter.
Have a look at it.
Lord Hunter, I would like to call Major General Beynon to the stand.
Whose dispatch did you order for Amritsar?
I ordered Colonel Morgan
[General Beynon] to take command in Amritsar on the 11th of April.
- What're you doing here, old chap? - I wasn't told you'd be here in Amritsar.
Well... here I am.
So you didn't send General Dyer to Amritsar at all?
[suspenseful music]
No.
[crowd murmurs]
[Kantilal] You never sent General Dyer to Amritsar.
General Dyer insists he was given the responsibility to maintain law and order.
He was given control of the city.
But that's not true.
To bring Amritsar under control, Major Macdonald was sent first
followed by Colonel Morgan.
General Dyer snatched the control
over Amritsar without permission.
Just wait one minute!
What exactly do you mean by snatched?
I received a message.
My headquarters received a telegram
instructing me to take immediate charge of Amritsar.
I have all the telegram records.
There's no mention of any such telegram in those records.
Lord Hunter, do you see General Dyer's dispatch orders?
- No. - No?
Exactly.
Because there is no such record.
There is no such telegram.
Only you say you received orders.
I just want to know,
who gave you the orders to go to Amritsar?
Who gave you the orders to go to Amritsar?
Good afternoon.
Namaste.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Continue, Mr. Sahni.
General Dyer, you were saying...
you were telling us who gave you the orders for Amritsar.
Who gave you the orders, General Dyer? Who sent you to Amritsar?
That's confidential information. I can't tell you.
Can't say. Fine.
You must recall, we asked General Dyer a month ago. [One month ago]
[Kantilal] General, the morning of 13th April,
you went to the city of Amristar to make some announcements. Correct?
Yes.
[The day of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre]
Attention! Attention!
According to General Dyer's orders...
General, Amritsar is roughly five square kilometers.
[Nanji Bhai] You made announcements at these 19 locations.
But your unit missed two important locations.
The Jallianwala Bagh and Golden Temple.
No announcements were made
in these crowded spots.
Any particular reason?
I am not from Amritsar.
So I don't know where the crowds gather and where they don't.
As far as I am concerned, we covered the city thoroughly.
DSP Plomer, you were with General Dyer that day.
Did you suggest General Dyer
to make announcements at the other important locations in the city?
We reached the post office...
[Announcer] No protests or processions allowed in or outside the city.
That's enough.
It's getting too hot for the troops. Let's head back to Civil Lines.
As the General said, it was getting too hot anyway so,
we took the Lahore Gates back to the Civil Lines.
[Kantilal] If the Post office is here and the Lahore Gates are over here,
that means you never went towards Jallianwala Bagh?
[soldiers marching]
These densely populated nearby areas which are most crowded in Amritsar...
you never made announcements here.
So, it's possible that the people in the bagh on 13th April
had no clue about the announcements?
[crowd murmurs]
It was possible, correct?
Possible.
[crowd murmurs]
I would like to call, Phula Singh.
What were you doing on 13th of April?
Hans Raj came to me on the morning of the 13th.
He informed me of a meeting at the bagh.
This front gate would be open.
He told me to lock the other two gates.
People would enter and exit from only one gate.
- Who told you this? - Hans Raj instructed me.
To close two gates?
Yes, he asked me to lock two gates.
Mr. Shoki, how high was the stage you built?
About two and a half feet.
Is that a common height for all stages?
They're usually one and a half feet.
Who asked you to build a stage of two and a half feet?
Hans Raj.
- Shoki, you'll have to build a higher stage. - How much?
A foot higher.
Nihal Singh, what did you see on 13th April?
I saw Hans Raj
talking to Shoki.
[Nihal Singh] I was standing afar so couldn't hear them.
But I saw...
CID officer Salim Sheikh
give Hans Raj a white handkerchief.
I've been looking for CID inspector Salim Sheikh since many days.
Nobody knows where he is. If you ask someone,
they say he's been transferred. But where?
- Nobody knows. - Where are you going with this, Mr. Sahni?
I am going to get to the truth, Lord Hunter.
Gurung, you were a part of the unit...
that accompanied General Dyer to Jallianwala Bagh that day.
What did you see when you reached the bagh?
Sir, when we entered a meeting was in progress.
[Gurung] A huge crowd was gathered.
When General Dyer reached there with his men
[Nihal Singh] there was a...
stir among people.
But one man brought the situation under control.
Everyone, sit down. It's alright. Calm down.
[Kantilal] Nihal Singh, what happened after?
Hans Raj waved the same white handkerchief in the air.
Firing positions.
The General gave firing orders.
Fire. [gunshots]
And then bang-bang-bang...
Bullets were fired.
Shoki, tell me something.
Can a man hide under a stage, two and a half feet tall?
Very easily. It's spacious.
Then what did Hans Raj do, Nihal Singh?
I saw Hans Raj hide under the stage.
[crowd murmurs]
That is why he made a stage which is two and a half feet tall.
So that he could hide under it.
Gurung, had you seen the man who waved the white handkerchief before 13th April?
Yes, sir. Once.
On the night of 12th April.
- On the night of 12th April? - Yes, sir.
You saw him a night before the Jallianwala Bagh massacre?
- Yes, sir. - Where did you see him?
On the night of 12th April,
he came to Civil Lines to meet General Dyer.
[crowd murmurs]
Gurung, what exactly did you see?
[exciting music]
[Gurung] He had a paper.
This paper?
Yes, this is the one.
Hans Raj... and the pamphlet?
These will remain with me, sir. Don't worry, they won't get distributed.
Very good. Off you go.
Yes.
I found many such pamphlets in his godown.
Thousands of such pamphlets were printed.
My question is, when thousands were printed, why weren't they distributed?
Do you know what it says, Lord Hunter?
These are orders from General Dyer.
His command...
against public gathering.
No gatherings of more than four people.
[Gathering of no more than four people]
Curfew after 8 pm.
[No leaving home after 8 pm]
Those disobeying orders would be shot dead.
[Will be shot]
These are the orders, which were never delivered to anyone.
- [crowd] - The pamphlets were not distributed. - Exactly!
Quiet!
Quiet, please!
Quiet!
The people present at the bagh on 13th of April,
didn't know of these announcements.
Fire! [gunshots]
Thank you, Gurung. That will be all.
No.
Thank you.
I realize I shot people at someone's orders.
I was only doing my duty.
Some believe they have the right to shed blood in the line of duty.
I'm not one of them.
If blood will be shed in the name of duty,
nobody will survive.
[crowd claps]
- [crowd] - Long live... - Sepoy Gurung!
Lord Hunter, my friend, Allahbaksh, wished for me.
Do you know what I prayed for on Ramnavami?
For you to find your voice.
That I find my voice.
That's why I don't just feel the need to say something...
I am speaking it out loud.
I'd like to present the Commission with some facts.
There were several protests opposing the Rowlatt Act. Fact!
Take back the black law!
During all such protests, Amritsar was peaceful. Fact!
Yet, without any warning or a warrant,
two famous leaders of Amritsar were arrested and deported. Fact!
When Amritsar demanded the release of their leaders,
shots were fired to rile up peaceful Indians
turning them into rioters.
Fact!
Riots were stoked in Amritsar
[glass shatters]
which killed 25 people. 20 Indians, 5 Britishers. Fact!
The army was called in to bring things under control.
[Kantilal] And then came...
Major Macdonald of the 124 Baluch reporting from Lahore.
Major Macdonald began to bring things under control.
Peace was restored.
But the British administration wasn't seeking peace.
Thus, Major Macdonald was replaced by a tyrannical officer in Amritsar
whose name was General Dyer.
You will not conspire against the Empire.
The motive was to teach the people of Amritsar a lesson.
You will not take up arms.
General Dyer was waiting for a chance to do his duty.
You will obey my orders.
Just one opportunity.
When that didn't happen, he created one and that's a fact.
- You're certain that people will be there? - Yes, sir.
General Dyer passed orders prohibiting gatherings but
Hans Raj made sure people remained unaware.
And that's a fact!
And the pamphlets?
These will never be distributed. Don't worry.
In fact, Hans Raj
called for a meeting in Jallianwala Bagh.
And that's a fact!
Everyone has to come. Everyone has to wait till 4 o'clock.
General Dyer got an opportunity to display his cruelty.
Fire! [gunshots]
More than 400 Indians were killed.
And General Dyer was applauded by the Lt. Governor of Punjab.
And that's a fact!
During the Satyagraha movement,
Hans Raj worked as an informant of the British administration.
Mr. Sahni.
He was a bloody British agent and that's a fact!
Bravo!
And the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a bloody British conspiracy!
And that is a fact!
[crowd applauding]
Silence!
[clapping]
Mr. Sahni. Silence!
- Everything was planned. - Mr. Sahni!
Lord Hunter, the strings were pulled by the ring master.
It was all pre-planned, a conspiracy.
Mr. Sahni, silence!
That is quite enough, Mr. Sahni.
These are very serious allegations
- you're making. - These are not allegations, Lord Hunter.
These are facts.
It was all pre-planned.
The massacre at Jallianwala Bagh was a conspiracy.
By the British administration.
General Dyer was a mere puppet.
He acted upon someone's orders.
Whose orders were they?
[crowd shouting]
Silence!
[crowd] You have to tell us who gave the orders?
[O'Dwyer mouthing]
[Hunter banging the gavel]
Silence!
- [crowd] We want justice! - Enough!
Now I call for a 30 minutes recess.
[Bailiff] All rise!
[crowd shouting]
Unbelievable!
[crowd shouting]
[crowd cursing at Dyer]
[emotional music]
- [Kantilal whistles] What are you doing? - Our signal.
Have you forgotten?
Even I can whistle.
[Hari whistles]
Amazing.
[Kantilal whistles]
- Billy. - That little tyke wouldn't stop talking.
Would you leave?
Thank you.
It's just the rush of young blood.
Next,
he'll be wanting to get you up there.
You will definitely not take a stand. I won't allow it.
Definitely not.
You see this is the trouble with natives everywhere.
You educate them, empower them,
but rather than be grateful for what you've done for them,
they start believing they're better than you.
Give them an inch and they'll take a yard. And this...
is why I was reluctant to let Sahni speak.
He'll shut up.
How?
Jaspal.
Yes, sir?
Put my plan into action.
Okay, sir.
Do explain.
I was never going to let one Indian get in the way of the entire British empire.
You're a clever old boy.
[laughing]
I'm Lt. Governor of Punjab, Billy.
Yes.
- [crowd] - Kanti did a great job. - Yes.
Excellent.
This pamphlet says something about Kanti.
[crowd] Read carefully. Kanti is involved.
Kanti has a role in writing the Rowlatt Act.
He hasn't done anything.
Kanti has a role in writing the Rowlatt Act.
It's written very clearly in this.
It's a British conspiracy.
It's written very clearly that Kanti was one of the lawyers to pass the Rowlatt Act.
Where did you find this?
- Where did you find this? - He is a traitor.
Calm down.
Please calm down.
[Girdharlal] He's been fighting the case.
- Calm down. - He is a shameless traitor.
Sit down!
Please sit down!
[Bailiff] Silence please! All rise!
[crowd] Kanti, what's written in these?
- [crowd] - Why're you silent? - What's the truth, Kanti?
He is a traitor!
- [crowd] - Why're you silent? - Say something, Kanti?
Kanti is a traitor!
- Is this true? - Kanti, speak up.
Kanti!
Kanti, speak up.
Why are you silent? Speak up!
[Girdharlal] Go from here!
[Hunter] Silence!
This is all a lie.
One minute.
Tell them, son.
What is the truth?
He's not saying anything.
[crowd shouting]
He's a traitor.
What will he say? He's a traitor.
He is a traitor!
Kantilal is a traitor!
- We trusted you. - Why aren't you saying anything now?
[crowd shouting] Kanti is a traitor!
Let's go out!
[grim music]
Let's go.
We need to go.
Kanti, you're a traitor!
Leave.
Leave!
[glass shatters]
[crowd shouting]
[Song] ♪ We are migrating birds, O beloved ♪
♪ We are migrating birds, O beloved ♪
♪ We have no home ♪
♪ We are migrating birds, O beloved ♪
[Man] Here comes the traitor!
You're a traitor.
[crowd cursing]
Strip him off his respect!
[door bangs shut]
Father.
Please forgive me.
It's all my fault.
I shouldn't have sent you to London.
[dramatic music]
You've given up?
Yes.
I've lost.
Brother...
now if you give up
then the soil of this bagh, this city,
and the entire country will be disappointed in you.
Now you tell me,
should you give up or not?
Sister,
this city hates me.
How do I fight even if I want to?
I've lost.
And how did they do that?
They found your weakness.
You have to find their weakness to win this battle.
Even Lord Ram wouldn't be able to defeat Ravan
if he hadn't known about Ravan's navel.
That was Ravan's weakness.
That's it.
That's all you have to do.
[Next day, 13th December]
[Man in crowd] Will the traitor speak?
If Mr. Sahni has...
no more to add, we could officially close this hearing.
- [Man in crowd] You're a traitor! - [Hunter] Enough!
Enough!
[Bailiff] Everyone please keep quiet.
So Mr. Sahni, do you have anything to add?
Well,
in that case, we shall...
call the commission to a close.
- Then the clerk can formally close this... - Lord Hunter,
before you close it...
Lord Hunter, I...
I have a confession to make.
[crowd murmurs]
I am ashamed.
I am ashamed of this color.
I am ashamed of being Indian.
[Man in crowd] Shame on you!
But I feel more ashamed because...
for a while I thought that
Indians and the British
could be equal.
And then I understood that Indians...
can't be equal to the British.
[Man] Sahni is a traitor!
[gavel banging]
Look at this, Lord Hunter.
This is what we have.
You have order and we have chaos.
Because there is a difference between black and white.
White and blackness.
You know, even the mothers here want their kids to be light skinned.
Am I wrong?
Because even they know it's a blessing to be light skinned.
It is a blessing.
The Indian mindset is...
uncivilized, uneducated, the darkness of a foolish black mind.
[crowd agitated]
The English mindset is...
a light of justice and wisdom.
And that's why I feel sad.
It hurts me
to think that...
the one who planned the Jallianwala Bagh massacre...
the cunning ringmaster...
was a black, uncivilized, uneducated Indian.
Who exactly are you referring to, Mr. Sahni?
Our only ringmaster, Lord Hunter.
Hans Raj.
Hans Raj?
[crowd murmurs]
Would you explain why Hans Raj would do this to his own people?
Lord Hunter, the answer to why lies in who.
Hans Raj or should I say Hasan Riyaz?
Who is that?
Hans Raj for the Hindus.
And Hasan Riyaz for the Muslims.
Half Hindu, half Muslim.
A Muslim father and a Hindu mother.
What's he saying? Who is Hans Raj?
Lord Hunter, a few years ago when Hans Raj's mother died,
he went to the city's cremation ground first
and he was refused
saying that his mother won't be cremated there.
Because she married a Muslim man.
Then he took his mother to a Muslim cemetery.
Even there he was told that...
she won't be buried as she was a Hindu.
Crying, he wandered around with his mother's dead body.
When the tears dried,
he decided...
that he'll fill all the cemeteries and cremation grounds of that city.
And he did everything to do this.
Satyapal and Kitchlew leaving the city.
It was his plan.
Inciting riots was his plan.
Major Macdonald leaving the city was his plan.
General Dyer's arrival was a part of his plan.
Not distributing the pamphlet was his plan.
Gathering a crowd at Jallianwala Bagh was also his plan.
Firing the bullets was a part of his plan.
Everything was his plan, his idea.
Just...
so that he could have his revenge.
Fascinating story, Mr. Sahni.
[dramatic music buildup]
But it's true, Lieutenant Governor O'Dwyer.
Like a circus ringmaster...
Hans Raj made the British government dance like a monkey.
Like a circus ringmaster, he made you dance like a monkey.
An uncivilized native,
who could not eat with a fork and knife,
outsmarted you.
A brown man,
made a white man...
a fool.
He made a fool out of you.
So, Lieutenant Governor O'Dwyer,
how does it feel to be a mere pawn,
in an Indian's elaborate game?
Rubbish! Hans Raj was a nobody.
No, but he played you. He played you like a game.
Nonsense! You're making this up! It was inconsequential.
A brown man played a white man and I know how you feel.
You feel like...
all of us feel, all the time.
You feel...
like a brown
native,
uncivilized,
illiterate,
idiot!
And I understand. I understand your apprehension.
I understand how you feel.
- Let me be straight. - That's exactly how we feel.
- That's how we feel. - No, son.
You've had a long time to talk.
I understand, it must be a really bitter pill to swallow
that he made a fool out of you. An absolute fool!
You don't understand. Will you give me a moment to speak?
I understand your apprehension as well. I just can't imagine.
- Mr. Sahni. - I can't imagine how you--
Will you let me speak?
Lieutenant Governor, please remain seated.
- I'm going in the stand. - Go back to your chair!
- This young man won't let me have a word. - I order you!
- I order you go back to your seat. - I'm going to take the stand.
- Do not take the stand. - I'm going in the stand, Billy.
- Do not take that stand! - I'm in the stand, Billy!
[silence]
Governor.
You will leave the stand now. I'm telling you.
Nobody tells me what to do.
Not even you.
You listen up, boy.
Without us British,
and our rule
you're just brown savages.
The Hindus want to get the Muslims and the Muslims want to get the Hindus.
If it weren't for us,
they'd tear each other apart.
It's we who maintain order.
You look at that order and you think, 'Oh that's easy, we'll do that'.
You want self-rule.
But you're incapable of governing yourselves.
Ruling you savages
is a white man's burden.
The color of my skin imposes upon me a responsibility.
Duty.
To civilize you and to keep you well behaved
and I will fulfill that duty.
Even if it calls
for the quelling of a hundred rebellions.
There will not be another mutiny
in this damned country!
You talk about dharma.
Saving British lives, that is my dharma.
My duty.
And I will do whatever it takes.
I'm the protector
of the British Empire and that protection
comes at a price, goddamn it!
What are you going on about Hans Raj for?
Hans Raj. He was a nobody.
He didn't do anything of any consequence.
He barely followed any instructions.
Where to go? What to do? What to say?
Everything little thing had to be drilled into him.
Ringmaster?
For God's sake! Ringmaster?
I'm the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab. No native tells me what to do,
I decide what happens in Punjab.
[silence]
You decide
what happens in Punjab?
So you passed the orders on Amritsar?
Was having Satyapal and Kitchlew arrested your plan?
Was inciting riots in the city your plan?
Bringing General Dyer to the city was your plan?
Gathering people in the bagh was your plan?
Was firing bullets your plan?
What happened in the Jallianwala Bagh was your conspiracy?
You!
Lieutenant Governor Michael O'Dwyer,
are the murderer of my friends,
my people,
and my nation!
You tried to put us down,
but we fight back.
And we will always fight back.
Lieutenant Governor O'Dwyer!
- [crowd] - Down with... - Governor O'Dwyer!
- [crowd] - Down with... - The British rule!
[crowd shouting slogans]
[dramatic rousing music]
[crowd shouting slogans continues]
[fantastical music]
Long live India!
Well done, Kanti.
You reached the root of the issue.
Who knew what would be gained
after reaching the root?
Long live India.
Kanti, the one who sows the seeds doesn't always get to enjoy its shade.
But when future generations enjoy its shade,
they bless the one who planted it.
Bravo, Kanti! Well done, Kanti!
Long live India!
[Girdharlal] Hans Raj's story,
of Hindu mother and Muslim father, I had never heard of it before.
When Saint Kabir felt
his time in this world had come to an end,
he renounced his body.
There was a dispute between the Hindus and Muslims
whether he should be cremated or buried.
What does that mean?
That means, who was Hans Raj,
a Hindu or a Muslim,
it doesn't matter.
I just wanted to uncover the British weakness through Hans Raj.
[Kantilal] And Father,
those who eat with a knife and fork
cannot digest being defeated by those who eat with their hands.
Is that so?
You really talk like a lawyer.
Here you go. Eat.
[laughter]
[One month later. 26th January, 1920] This is your home.
Have you thought about a name?
Name?
Victoria.
Victoria?
Hari used to say that if we had a girl
then she will be named Victoria.
Victory.
Which means Jeet (victory).
My daughter's name will be Jeet Kaur.
Just watch,
she will bring victory to us Indians.
[baby cries]
What will she become when she grows up?
A human.
[Song] ♪ It is our resolution ♪
♪ to become true humans ♪
- ♪ It is our resolution ♪ - Hey!
- ♪ To become true humans ♪ - What did you name her? Victoria?
Jeet.
♪ Once we become true humans ♪
- Sister! - Look who's here.
- Allahbaksh uncle. - [Song] ♪ Once we become true humans ♪
♪ We shall also become divine ♪
[Jawaharlal Nehru] At the stroke of the midnight hour,
when the world sleeps,
India will awake to life and freedom.
[Song] ♪ It is our resolution ♪
♪ to become true humans ♪
♪ It is our resolution ♪
♪ To become true humans ♪
♪ Once we become true humans ♪
♪ We shall also become divine ♪
♪ Whether Buddhist, Jain, or Muslim ♪
♪ Hindu, Sikh, or Christian ♪
♪ Whether Buddhist, Jain, or Muslim ♪
♪ Hindu, Sikh, or Christian ♪
♪ As brothers to one another ♪
♪ We will live together in harmony ♪
♪ Beejak, Quran, Agam, Gurugam ♪
♪ Krishna and the Geeta ♪
♪ Beejak, Quran, Agam, Gurugam ♪
♪ Krishna and the Geeta ♪
♪ Stories of humanity ♪
♪ We'll read with love ♪
♪ It is our resolution ♪
♪ To become true humans ♪
♪ It is our resolution ♪
♪ to become true humans ♪
♪ Once we become true humans ♪
♪ We shall also become divine ♪
♪ It is our resolution ♪
♪ To become true humans ♪
♪ It is our resolution ♪
♪ To become true humans ♪