Svetlmat at 19:34, 6 March 2026

2026-03-06T19:34:17Z

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In 1919, during martial law in Punjab, following the [[Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre]], some odd humiliating punishments were administered by the [[British Indian Army]], dubbed '''fancy punishments''' by the Hunter Inquiry into the disturbances.

==Background==
Martial law was introduced in Punjab at midnight between 15 and 16 April 1919 and backdated to 30 March on 21 April by the Viceroy, at the request of [[Michael O'Dwyer]].<ref name=Collett2006>{{cite book |last1=Collett |first1=Nigel|author-link=Nigel Collett |title=The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer |date=2006 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-85285-575-8 |page=275 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XuQC5pgzCw4C&pg=PA275|language=en|chapter=17. The crawling order}}</ref>

==Punishments==
Designed to humiliate, several punishments, dubbed as "fancy" in the ''Disorders Inquiry Committee, 1919–1920: Report'' (Hunter Inquiry), were invented by [[Arnold Chadwick Doveton|A. C. Doveton]], and included making people skip, draw lines on the ground with their nose, calling out poetry, flogging men in front of female sex-workers, and allegedly painting holy men white.<ref name=Sayer1991>{{cite journal |last1=Sayer |first1=Derek |title=British Reaction to the Amritsar Massacre 1919–1920 |journal=Past and Present |date=1991 |volume=131 |issue=1 |pages=130–164 |doi=10.1093/past/131.1.130 |url=https://academic.oup.com/past/article-abstract/131/1/130/1511494|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=Anand2021>{{cite book |last1=Anand |first1=Anita|author-link=Anita Anand (journalist) |title=The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest for Independence |date=2021 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-5011-9571-6 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mEoiEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA123|location=New York|language=en |chapter=10. I repent, I repent, I repent|pages=115–126}}</ref><ref name=Horniman1920>{{cite book |last1=Horniman |first1=B. G. |author-link=B. G. Horniman|title=Amritsar And Our Duty To India |date=1920 |publisher=[[T. Fisher Unwin]] |location=London |pages=150–164 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.351510/page/n153/mode/2up |chapter=15. O'Brien, Doveton, and Bosworth-Smith}}</ref> Others involved included [[Henry St. George Murray Mcrae]], [[Bertrand Bosworth-Smith]], and district commissioner at [[Gujranwalla]], [[Aubrey J. O'Brien|A. J. O'Brien]].<ref name=Horniman1920/><ref name=Naidis1951>{{cite book |last1=Naidis |first1=Mark |title=The Punjab Disturbances of 1919: A Study in Indian Nationalism |date=1951 |publisher=Stanford University |page=101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kLMUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA101 |language=en}}</ref> [[Reginald Dyer]] gave the order for all lawyers in Amritsar to become "special constables", with the task of menial work including sweeping.<ref name=Sayer1991/> O'Brien punished Indians who failed to raise their umbrellas, step down from their vehicles, or salute, at the presence of a "gazetted or commissioned European Civil and Military officer of his Majesty's Service".<ref name=Horniman1920/>

==See also==
*[[Salaaming Order]]
*[[Crawling Order]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=Report of the Committee Appointed in the Government of India to Investigate the Disturbances in the Punjab, Etc |date=1920 |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wek2AQAAMAAJ |language=en|volume=IV|location=Calcutta}}
*{{cite book |title=The Congress Inquiry Report |date=1920 |url=https://ir.nbu.ac.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/c611bd6b-152a-4e2c-8fe9-8c766c074af3/content|publisher=K. Santanam|location=Bombay|language=en}}

[[Category:British military scandals]]
[[Category:1919 in British India]]

Fancy punishments - Revision history

Svetlmat at 19:34, 6 March 2026