All World
Gayatri Pariwar

Anger aroused in Shriram

After 1919-20, non-cooperation movement had started all over India. The aim of the movement at that time was not to achieve complete independence; it was meant for certain constitutional amendments so that Indians could also take part in the governance of the country. Mahatma Gandhi had become the voice of the soul of India and he had emerged as the supreme leader of the movement. After the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, he had called the British government in India as 'Satan' and appealed to his fellow countrymen to boycott courts, schools and colleges; those who were in government jobs were called upon to resign from their jobs and thus show complete non-cooperation with the foreign government. Countrywide strikes were observed on March 30 and April 16. On the days of strikes, life came to a standstill all over the country, businesses were closed and British officers were left helpless. This strike had shown the full efficacy of the non-cooperation weapon.

The movement continued and took on a fiercely defiant nature. The government also took harsh steps to curb the agitation. Thousands of people were jailed. The repression continued without any let-up. In the face of this repression, people could not remain silent and violence broke out in many places. Mahatma Gandhi categorically disapproved this violence. He had expected the agitators to remain non-violent till the end. He believed that once we resorted to violence, God would leave us and non-violence was followed at all costs, then Divinity would emerge within the people. When the non co-operation movement did not run as per his intentions, he accepted his folly. He said that without preparing people for non-violence, starting the non co-operation movement was a blunder. To rectify this mistake, he called off the movement.

The movement, with which Mahatma Gandhi had promised to achieve self governance (swaraj) within one year, could not succeed. This call for self-governance had not reached the momentum of either ‘call for complete independence’ of 1929 or the ‘Quit India Movement’ of 1942. It aimed at a limited participation of people in the governance of the country. Even though Gandhiji had only temporarily withdrawn the movement, people termed it as a failure. This was true to some extent. Yet, it had removed the fear from the minds of people with respect to the repression by the government, British guns and jails. After this fear vanished from the minds of the people, the British also realized that they would have to leave India sooner or later. Their tyranny to curb the feelings of the people became more severe. As a result, the feelings of revenge got strengthened in the minds of the people.

The rising anger against the British influenced the common masses across the country including the youth, the teenagers and women. In Anwalkheda village this anger was first visible in young Shriram. While returning from his trip to Mathura-Vrindavan, he heard that Gandhiji had been arrested. Rallies were taken out protesting against his arrest. Shriram pushed back the sweet memories of Mathura-Vrindavan and started taking part in arranging prabhat pheries (morning processions). The elders of the village advised him not to attend the rallies as the police could attack and arrest the people at any time. They said that he was still a kid and advised him to stay back from such activities. Shriram refused saying that even the kids had some responsibilities towards the freedom movement. He sought their blessings to fulfill his national duties well.

A few days later, the news arrived that Gandhiji was being sentenced to 6 months in jail. He was tried for treason. Shriram was present in a meeting when this news came. He said, “Let them also try us in the court. Let the rule of evil be destroyed.” This intense feeling in a twelve-year old boy overwhelmed all the people – young and old – in the meeting. In this meeting, Shriram declared that he would create an army of youngsters and do something or other against the British rule.

Organization of the youth brigade
He gathered 8-10 kids of his age and started rallies of young boys. After the prabhat pheri, all the boys would gather in the Hanuman temple. They would bow down to Lord Hanuman and start their exercises. They had caught on to the words of the swaraji youth, Charan Bhaiya that the youth should have sturdy bodies to fight against the British. If the body was weak, it could not take on even one hit by a police lathi (stick). The weak would crumble immediately on being hit and it was necessary to develop a strong body. Seeing the preparation of the youngsters for the freedom movement, Charan Bhaiyya and other elders in the village arranged for milk and breakfast in the temple premises. The breakfast consisted of jaggery and soaked chick-peas.

This group of young fighters showed its prowess from time to time. They would attack on any front where they saw atrocities. Agra had a cantonment and a contingent of British army was stationed there. The army men would do what pleased them; and committed atrocities on the people. They used people as unpaid laborers. They would play any trick on people for their entertainment. People were terrified by these excesses and would not even pass by the cantonment. People would hide themselves if they saw a soldier, particularly when he was a British. Their oppression was known all around Agra. These incidents were described as if they were ghost stories in Anwalkheda too. They would be discussed in the ‘young army’. They took an oath that they would not tolerate the oppression by any soldier –Indian or British. They would try to stop them, or at least show their anger towards their acts of oppression.

Encounter with British troops

The time to test the mettle of the young fighters came soon. Soldiers normally never entered villages. One day an English officer took some 5-7 soldiers and started towards Anwalkheda. The news of their arrival reached the villagers. The ‘young army’ met and soon decided on a plan of action on how to react to any atrocity by these troops. With this resolution, they sat at the entrance of the village. They had come fully prepared. What they did not know was the exact time when the soldiers would come. So, they stationed themselves at the gate from early morning.

Around 12:30 – 1 PM, they saw dust rising due to galloping horses. Shriram signaled his mates. The troops must have created havoc in the previous village, they guessed. The young army decided not to let the troops enter the village. The young boys redoubled their resolve. They lifted stones and catapults. Their resolve became stronger. As the troops arrived, Shriram jumped down on to the road.

An Indian soldier among the troops asked Shriram what he was up to. There was no reply. The question was repeated and yet there was no response. The soldier did not like this brashness. He got down the horse and moved to slap the boy. Just as the soldier was to slap him, Shriram removed some chilly powder from his pocket in a flash and blew it into the eyes of the soldier. The soldier had never imagined such reaction even in his dreams. He became restless with pain. The next moment, catapults started raining stones on the troops. Before the officer realized what was happening, a big piece of wood fell on his helmet and it fell down. He started hurling insults. No one could understand where the attack was coming from.

This attack continued for some ten minutes and suddenly stopped. This attack irritated the soldiers. They assumed that this was the handiwork of the villagers and entered the village to teach them a lesson. People hid themselves in the village as the officer shouted – “Those who were part of this prank come forward or the entire village will be punished”. People trembled in their houses as the officer warned again “Pranksters, come out of the houses.”

Then, Charan Bhaiya came out. He asked – “What has happened Colonel Saheb? What prank was played on you?” The colonel replied –“Bring that boy in front of me who threw chilli powder in my soldier’s eyes. Also get them, who rained stones on us. Let us see who these freedom fighters are”. Charan Bhaiya replied –“No one in the village would dare do such a thing. It must certainly be the act of the dacoit Surajee. His gang has a boy who is known for throwing chilli powder into people’s eyes.”

The officer asked in broken Hindi – “Where does this dacoit stay?” Charan Bhaiya replied – “Do these thieves have any permanent residence? It was good that you came across him or else he would have entered the village and created havoc here. But it appears that even you were not spared by his gang.” The officer felt puzzled and said – “No, we were not troubled, but if you hear about the whereabouts of this dacoit, send a message to the cantonment and we will deal with him”.

The troops left without staying any longer in the village. Charan Bhaiiya knew who was behind all this. The plan for attacking the troops was drawn up under his own supervision. This was a risky task. But if nothing had been done, the troops would have created mayhem in the village. This successful attack increased the confidence of the young army. They continued to laugh for a long time after the troops had left the village. When some people came to know of their actions, they initially were upset, but broke into laughter seeing the bravery of the kids.

Companion of Gandhiji’s non-cooperation

The young fighters also fought against landlords who committed atrocities on the laborers working in the fields. The main aim of this army was to be a part of the freedom movement. What comes under the umbrella of Independence? What is the meaning of the British rule? They did not go into the depths of such topics. What filled the boys with anger was Gandhiji’s arrest. Gandhi to them was a name of a person who was fighting for truth and justice; a person who neither took revenge on anyone nor fought a personal battle with anyone. His fight was based on principles. The name Gandhi was synonymous with not bowing down to atrocities and not to cooperate with anyone who committed atrocities.

Under Shriram’s leadership, the young army started a curious experiment of non-cooperation with such landlords. They would either hide their sticks or let the oxen run free. Shriram and other members of the army like Charan Bhaiya, Soraji, Mohanlal tried to teach the bonded laborers to be unafraid. They would establish contact with the laborers and try to convince them that it was better to oppose the atrocities than succumb to them. This increased their self- confidence. Some of them left their work and started leading a new life again.