revisiting the indo-german ‘conspiracy’article also stated that the english were faced with...
TRANSCRIPT
179 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy
Revisiting the Indo-German ‘Conspiracy’
Sharanjeet Nijjar
Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Sarhali, Tarn Taran, Punjab _______________________________________________________________
The First World War broke out in Europe in August 1914. It provided a new hope for the
Ghadarites to take advantage of the opportunity and organise an armed revolt against
British rule in India and achieve liberation. The Ghadarites wanted to drive the British
out of India through an armed insurrection. With the hope of achieving a successful
revolution, they formulated an alliance with anti-British countries such as Germany and
Turkey. During the course of the War, the Ghadar leadership in the USA held regular
meetings with German agents. In 1915, they organised an Indo-German ‘Conspiracy’
(also known as Hindu German ‘Conspiracy’), effectively a German plot with the aim of
overthrowing British rule in India. With the assistance of the Germans, an Indo-German
Mission was also sent to Kabul to get favour of the Amir of Afghanistan to fight tyranny
of British rule in India.
_______________________________________________________________
Introduction
The Ghadar Movement was formed by Indian immigrants on the West Coast of
America with the aim to propagate their programme and get freedom from the
British rule through an armed revolution. It brought out a weekly newspaper called
Ghadar in November 1913, first in Urdu and then in Punjabi and many other Indian
languages. Henceforth, it came to be known as the Ghadar Party. The party heavily
emphasized people’s unity and cautioned against the divide and rule policies of the
British Government. The Ghadar was an important mouthpiece of the movement.
By using this as weapon against the British, the Ghadarites published several forms
of literature, such as poems and opinion pieces in this paper and made people more
aware of the economic exploitation carried out by the British Government. The
outbreak of the First World War provided hope for the Ghadarites in the United
States to organise an armed revolt for overthrow of the British from India. For this
purpose, whatever assistance they could get from anti-British powers, especially
Germany, became essential. As a response, Germany also declared its support to the
Ghadarites in their anti-British struggle. The present paper provides a focus on Indo-
German designs against the British Empire during the World War I.
Germany, the First World War and the Ghadar Party
The First World War started between Germany and England on August 4, 1914.
It delighted the Indian revolutionaries living abroad in North America. For them,
it was at the same time a signal and a hope. They had been anticipating such an
event for a long time and eagerly looked forward to the day when the British
would be involved in the War with Germany. For them England’s difficulty was
JSPS 26:1&2 180
India’s opportunity.1 However, with the beginning of the War, the Ghadarites
tried to get support from anti-British countries. In the USA and Germany, they
renewed their efforts to enlist the sympathy and support of the Germans.2 Even
from the beginning, Indian revolutionaries had toyed with the idea of securing
foreign help in the hour of Britain’s difficulty. But the most important question
was with whom was Britain most likely to be in difficult and from whom help
might be secured and what prior preparations should be made for that purpose?
In November 1909, for the first time, Germany was referred to by them as the
chief enemy of Britain. In 1913-14, the Ghadar literature was replete with
references to the approaching Anglo-German War and possible German help in
their revolutionary struggle.3 Germany was also interested in supporting the
Indian revolutionaries. It showed in Kaiser Wilhelm’s (Emperor of Germany)
speech on July 14, 1914, two weeks before the War began. He said:
“Our Consuls in Turkey and India, agents etc. must enflame
the entire Mohammedan world to wild revolt against this
hated, mendacious, conscienceless nation of shop keepers (the
English), for if we have to bleed ourselves to death, then
England should at least loose India”.4
The year 1914 saw a new turn in the history of the relation between Germany
and the Indian revolutionaries. In October 1914, F. Von Bernhardi (General in
German Army) published his book entitled Germany and the Next War. In this
book, he mentioned the possibility of revolution breaking out in India and Egypt
if British military forces were tied up for a long time with a European War.5 This
book was translated into English and widely acclaimed by Indian revolutionaries
as a secure sign of German willingness to help.6 On 6th March 1914, the Berliner
Tageblatt published an article on “England’s Indian Trouble” in which he took
a gloomy view of the Indian situation and predicted that the day of reckoning
for England would come “far sooner than official negligence dreams of”. The
article also stated that the English were faced with conspiracies and secret
societies everywhere and these were spreading and aided from outside.7
Number of references with German connection were also found in the
Ghadar paper even before the War. The Ghadar constantly incites its readers to
rebel against the British because the Germans would help all Indian
revolutionaries in their struggle to free India from British colonialism. In the
issue of July 21, 1914, an article entitled The Ghadar in Switzerland -
Connection with Germany was published. The writer argued that Germany will
assuredly help any movement for the independence of India, because the
prosperity of England is an eyesore of India. Therefore, it is essential that
friendly relations should be established with journalists and political leaders. In
future, Germany will be the best refuge for those Indian patriots who have to
live away from their country.8 The same issue of the Ghadar contained a most
significant reference to Germany and the Mutiny:
“All intelligent people know Germany is an enemy of the
Great Britain. We also are the mortal enemy of the British
Government and an enemy of my enemy is my friend. As the
181 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy
day of revolution approaches, Germany will most assuredly
help us. It is imperative to be friends with the German
correspondences and political leaders and that they should be
given information as to the progress of our movement. In the
future, those patriots who are exiled would do to choose
Germany as the country to live in”.9
On September 1, 1914, the Ghadar advised Indians to go back to India as it
indicated that Turkey would ally with Germany against the British. It praised
Germany as “the leader of Persia, Turkey, India and all the weak and subject
nations”. A Mohammedan patriot wrote an article relating to the war between
England and Turkey and indicates that it would be a good time to strike a blow
for the freedom of India from British rule.10 In the issue of September 8, 1914,
a Punjabi poem was published:
“Mulk wich mucha deo ghadr Jaldi
Hun lok bhi rang wata chale”
Ughar gia frangi da paj sara
German fateh England te pa chale”
Lea mar France da mulk sara
Rare Rus wi dand bhana chale”11
Even before his departure from the USA, Lala Hardayal is said to have
remarked, “If I am turned out of this country (U.S.A.), I can make preparations
for the mutiny in any other country. Our organization and our arrangements are
so complete that the Ghadar will not be stopped by my leaving the country. I
shall have to go Germany to make arrangements for the approaching Ghadar”.12
Maulvi Barakatullah wrote a paper entitled “Christian combination against
Islam” in which he made the following remarks:
“There is really one man who holds the peace of the world as
well as the War in the hallow of his hand and that man is
Kaiser Wilhelm, Emperor of Germany. Russia, England,
France and Italy moved heavens and earth to create rebellion
and disturbances within the Ottoman dominions, to egg the
Balkan States on to a War against Turkey, to encourage the
Cretans to join the Greeks and to force the passage into the
Dardanelles, and finally are trying to call a conference of
European powers - all this to compel Turkey to give up
Tripoli. But the Emperor of Germany set all their tricks at
naught and maintained the peace of the world and integrity of
the Ottoman Empire. In case there be a conference of the
European powers or a European War, it is the duty of the
Muslims to be united, to stand by the Khalifa, with their life
and property, and to side with Germany. Germany’s word
alone is reliable; while the others blow the trumpet of
independence, integrity, civilization and progress, but they at
JSPS 26:1&2 182
the same time go marching along through bloodshed,
desecration of holy places, rapine and plunder”.13
In early 1915, A. Raman Pillai, an Indian student in Germany, wrote a pamphlet
entitled “Germany: The Hope of India” in which he brought out the stock
changes against British rule in India and explains the real feelings of Indians
towards their rulers. He asserted “The Indians who are fighting against Germany
are the enemies of India, they are merely a handful of beggars who serve the
English for the piece of bread thrown to them. It is life-long wish of every Indian
to free his country from the claws of the greedy English”.14
However, the deepening European crisis brought the Ghadarites and German
officials closer. The Ghadarites in the United States and their counterparts
(Berlin India Committee) in Germany were trying to act or conspire together
and two basic circumstances developed to help them. First, the growing
animosity between Germany and Britain. Secondly, they anticipated isolation
and neutrality of the United States in the event of a war between the two other
powers.15 In early years of the War, Germany realized that India was a crucial
piece of the British Empire and Germans were too happy to provide India with
the means to fight England. No doubt, the Ghadar party welcomed German
financing due to a shortage of funds. The cooperation was based on give and
take as referred to by Sohan Singh Josh: you give us arms and ammunition and
train our people for revolution in India and we shall in return, create conditions
of destabilization and revolution through armed struggle and to pay the way after
the German victory.16 At the time of the Komagata Maru incident, there was no
evidence that Indian revolutionaries received assistance from Germany.17
However, after outbreak of the War, leaders of the Ghadar Party started
informing the Indians about the incident of Komagata Maru. Both the War and
the Komagata Maru incidents encouraged Ghadar to increase their mobilization
activities. Meetings were arranged throughout the United States and leaders
appealed to the people to return to their motherland to drive the Feringee out of
India and end their suffering. It was natural that they should try to obtain help
from Germany.18
During the course of the War, on the one hand, Ghadarites were appealing
the Indians to go back to their country for revolution and on the other, they were
trying to get support of the Germans against the British.19 The Indian
revolutionaries living in Europe met in Berlin under the leadership of H.L.
Gupta, a Bengali terrorist leader. They approached the Kaiser Wilhelm’s
Government for help to drive the British out of India. The Germans wanted to
win the War in Europe. They thought that the British were getting troops from
all of their vast empire to fight in France. Most of these colonial troops came
from India, especially the Punjab, in their hundreds and thousands. If the Indians
could stir up a rebellion, the British army would be occupied up in India itself
to restore order. Thus, the British and the French could be defeated in Europe.
Moreover, the British would prefer defeat in Europe than to lose India.20
However, the Germans had two goals in mind in supporting the Ghadar
conspiracy. First, they wanted armed rebellion in India to occur so that the
183 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy
British would be forced to send back the loyal Indian army from the Western
front to India. Secondly, they sought to instill an anti-British spirit among the
Indian soldiers on the Western front by playing upon the nationalist feelings of
the Hindu sepoys and the religious pro-Turkish feelings of the Muslim soldiers,
so that they wouldn’t fight with the same intensity against German troops, but
surrender after creating a sham of military operations.21 Captain Franz Von
Papen, German Officer in Washington D.C. summed up the German
Government’s motives for helping the Ghadar Party in its conspiracy in the
following way:
“We did not go so far as to suppose that there was any hope
of India achieving her Independence through our assistance,
but if there was any chance of fomenting local disorders, we
felt it might limit the number of Indian troops who could be
sent to France and other theatres of the War”.22
The Berlin India Committee
The German Government gave employment to Virendra Nath Chattopadhaya,
Champakaran Pillai and other Indians who were in Germany or Switzerland at
that time. Chandra Kant Chakravarty and Hemendra Kishore Rakhsit were
employed in the German Embassy at Washington D. C.23 In September 1914,
Champakaraman Pillai approached the German Consul in Zurich and provided
him with a summary of the objectives of the Indian revolutionary movement and
tried to publish anti-British literature in Germany. The latter suggestion was
apparently well received.24 In October 1914, he arrived in Berlin to be attached
to the German Foreign Office. He founded the “Indian National Party” in Berlin,
attached to the German General Staff, with its headquarters at 28
Wielandstrasse, Charlottenburg. The four leading members of this organisation,
at time of its formation, were Champakaraman Pillia, Virendranath
Chattopadhyaya, Dr. Prabhakar and Dr. Abdul Hafiz.25 The work of the ‘Indian
National Party’ was to produce and distribute anti-British literature which
preached revolutionary sentiments among Indian prisoners in Germany and
possibly also to act as spies among Indian troops operating in France.26 Later the
‘Indian National Party’ was renamed as the ‘Berlin India Committee’.27
However, it was absolutely an autonomous body in regular receipt of a specified
monthly amount and occasional grants from the German Foreign Office. Its
purpose was to take care of Indians living under the Central Powers to establish
contacts with Indian revolutionaries elsewhere and to advise the German
Government on Indian affairs.28 The first President of the Committee was Dr.
Mansur Ahmad, a Muslim Urdu scholar from Aligarh. The other members of
the Committee included Lala Hardayal, Tarak Nath Das, Maulvi Barkatullah,29
C.K. Chakravarty30, H.L. Gupta, Chattopadhyay and B.N. Dutta. The Ghadar
Party members in the United States kept in close contact with the Berlin India
Committee through the German Embassy in that country. It was decided that the
Ghadar party would carry on revolutionary work in accordance with the
direction of the Berlin India Committee. Moreover, the aim of the Committee
JSPS 26:1&2 184
was to secure arms and ammunition, send money and men who were trained in
the manufacture and use of explosive and modern weapons to India for
revolution. Other work of the Committee consisted of printing and distributing
anti British literature and preaching sedition to Indian prisoners in Germany.31
Indians in Germany were not alone in their attempt in utilizing the War and
securing German assistance against Britain. The Iranian and Egyptian
nationalists too had formed their own Independence Committee in Berlin. Ever
since their early contacts before the War, they had been working quietly and in
a friendly way with the Indian nationalists in Europe. They were eager to unite
their forces against their common enemy.32
The Ghadar leaders in America organized a meeting at Orwood Island,
California on 4 June 1915. In this meeting, Ram Chandra claimed that German
help for revolution in India had been received. It was also decided that Indians
who wished to fight for their country would be sent to Germany where they
would propagate anti-British sentiments among the Indian soldiers. A sum of
$500 was collected for the Ghadar campaign.33 Ram Chandra was the sole leader
of the Ghadar Movement in the U.S.A when the German financial help took on
a concrete shape. He had a close connection with the German Consul in San
Francisco and was entrusted with the task of sending men and arms to India. He
received money from the German Consulate to carry on with the publication of
the Ghadar and for other revolutionary activities.34 He received $26,000 from
the Germans and professed to have spent it all. But it is stated that he had saved
at least $10,000 for his own private purse. He asked the German Consul-General
to increase the subsidy from $1,200 to $2,000 and give him a lump sum of
$35,000.35 Ram Chandra and William Von Brincken from the German
Consulate in San Francisco met and planned several revolutionary activities
together. One night, at the end of 1914, Von Brincken went to the Ghadar press
and drove away with bundles of Ghadar paper. Ram Chandra also composed
Ghadar in various Indian languages under the title “Don’t fight with Germans
because they are friends”. Von Brincken had made plans to send these copies of
Ghadar to the European War Front where German planes would drop them
among Indian troops fighting on the Western War Front.36
The first attempt at supplying German arms to India was made by a chartered
ship, the Henry S, which sailed from Manila. But the British Government
managed to capture it. After this unsuccessful attempt, H.L. Gupta was sent to
Japan to purchase arms with German money but he returned without achieving
his goal.37 The Maverick and Annie Larsen incident was another well-known
attempt by the Ghadar Party to get arms into India with the assistance of the
Germans. Both steamships were purchased with Germans money for the purpose
of transferring arms to India. This plan to get arms and ammunition to India was
started in the United States, a neutral country at the time of the European War.38
The Siam-Burma Scheme
Another important part of the Indo-German Conspiracy to incite revolution in
India was the Siam-Burma Scheme. Under German leadership and finance, a
185 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy
group of Ghadar Party members at the Chicago branch and in Siam began
planning an invasion of India from Burma. The Ghadar conspirators in Chicago
hoped to convert the Indians residing in Siam to the cause of freedom, train them
in military warfare and send them to India for the intended revolution.39 Siam
was considered particularly important by the Ghadarites for seducing the British
forces there. The large number of Punjabis were working in various capacities
in the Siam region. Very shortly after the first issue of Ghadar was published, it
began to be sent to Siam to exhort Indians there to participate in the freedom
struggle. In Siam, Jiwan Singh, Inder Singh, Dharam Singh and Karam Singh
played an important role in distribution of Ghadar.40 The Ghadar Party made
plans for the training of 10,000 Indians who lived in Siam with help of German
military experts. Indians would receive training in the Chandrai Jungle in Siam.
H.L. Gupta, with the help of German Consulate at Chicago, persuaded the three
German-Americans, George Boehm, Albert Wehde and Sterneck to train
revolutionary Indians in Siam. Jacobson’s house in Chicago served as the
meeting place to plan the Siam-Burma Scheme. German agents, according to
this plan would supply arms from the United States and Mexico, some for Burma
and the others for Siam.41 Successive parties of the Ghadarites started arriving
in Bangkok from the Far East with the intention of travelling overland to India.
Some of these parties made their way into Northern Siam and others left by sea
with the intention of disembarking at Bandon and proceeding to Burma by land.
On April 10, 1915, a party of 17 Sikhs arrived in Bangkok from America and
left the following day by train for a station in the north of Siam with the object
of travelling overland to Burma.42 By the end of April 1915, it was estimated
that about 100 Indians had passed through Bangkok and it was also noted that
there was a tendency among the Sikhs previously resident in Siam to return to
India. In the middle of July 1915, Jodh Singh, who sailed from San Francisco to
Manila as one of Boehm’s party arrived in Bangkok.43 At Bangkok, he met Bhai
Balwant Singh and Takar Singh of Kala Sangian, Kapurthala. Jodh Singh was
one of the most important leaders in the Burma-Siam Plan. He was sent by Ram
Chandra and asked him to coordinate activities of Ghadar cadre with German
Consuls and military officers for training of Indian recruits for an attempt to
liberate India through Siam and Burma.44 Other prominent Indians involved in
this scheme were Sohan Lal Pathak, Harnam Singh, Santokh Singh, H.L. Gupta,
Bhai Bhagwant Singh, Amar Singh and Bhagwan Singh.45 But the Siam-Burma
Scheme was never carried out as one workable plan. Eventually, it failed without
achieving any target. At the beginning of August 1915, Jodh Singh, Shiv Dayal
Kapur, Balwant Singh were arrested for infringing the neutrality of Siam and
after a time they were deported to Singapore. After the breakdown of the Scheme
in the latter half of 1915, there was no further attempt by Ghadarites
revolutionaries to organize an expedition in India.46
Turkey’s entry into the War against Britain created a strong anti-British
feelings in Muslim States. The Ghadar Party and Germans decided to utilize
these feelings in their favour.47 At the beginning of 1915, Maulvi Barkatullah,
Kersamp and Tarak Nath Das went to Istanbul where they were received by
Enver Pasha and were assured by the Turkish Government of help in the task of
JSPS 26:1&2 186
formulating a plan of enlisting Indian War prisoners into a revolutionary
Army.48 Some members of the ‘Young Turk Party’ started anti-British secret
propaganda among the Mohammedan trading community in Rangoon and
among Muslim soldiers for a mutiny against the British. Regiments such as the
130th Baluchis which arrived at Rangoon in November 1914, the Military Police
of Burma and the Malay State Guides and 5th Infantry at Singapore consisted
largely of Punjabi Muslims. The Ghadarites took advantage of the pro-Turkish
and Pan-Islam appeal to this class of soldiers. In collaboration with Turkish
leaders, special articles were published in the Hindustan Ghadar in San
Francisco.49 The Muslim population of Turkey was exhorted through the
following words:
“Rise, give up loyalty and preach revolution. Influence of
Turkey to join Germany and spread conflagration throughout
Muslim world and recover the lost territories. Go to Amir of
Afghanistan and induce His Majesty to invade the Punjab and
to recover throne of Delhi and thus to clear out the English
ruffians and brigands. This is the proper time to save. Turkey
and China from the grasp of the robbers-England, France and
Russia. If you lose this opportunity, Turkey and China will be
partitioned and Asia will be made home of slaves. Rise,
Turkey rise. Join Germany in her Jihad. Germany is your
friend, take her advice” Anarchists are supplying the Muslims
of India and millhands with bombs to kill off the English”.50
The Indo-German Mission to Kabul
In March 1915, the German Foreign Office arranged for the dispatch of a
Mission to the Suez Canal region for the purpose of distributing seditious leaflets
among Indian soldiers there. Tarak Nath Das and M. P. Tirumal Achraya were
the members of the Mission.51 A large number of cuttings from Germany and
Austrian papers, dealing with the situation in India were sent to India. Those
papers highlighted the issues of the Lahore Conspiracy Case, the dacoities in the
South West Punjab and the Singapore Uprising. One paper published a picture
of three Englishmen being stoned by Indians in the street of Calcutta. Another
article began with the following words: “How many people who had hoped or
believed that India was to have been a decisive factor in England’s discomfiture
have been disillusioned? It was taken for granted that India would take the
opportunity to rise and expel the century old robbers and oppressors.52 A
revolutionary Committee was also formed in Iran with headquarters in Berlin.
Attempts were also made to combine the Muslim States against the British.
Maulvi Obeidullah carried on negotiations for this purpose with various other
Arab States.53
The Ghadar leaders in the USA were also interested in going to Turkey to
reach the Indian frontier from the West. They thought that apart from their
influence in the Court of Kabul, it would be relatively easy to get into contact
with their comrades in India and to send them arms from there. In February
187 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy
1915, Mahendra Pratap personally visited German Foreign Office and suggested
that he, Maulvi Barakatullah and a few Indian prisoners of War should be
included in Mission. Rudolf Nadolny, representative of the Foreign Office in the
German General Staff, welcomed the proposal and it was accepted by the
German Foreign Office. Mahendra Pratap was the formal head of the Mission
and Dr. W. O. Von Hentig of the German Foreign Office was in-charge of its
affairs.54 The Indo-German Mission left for Kabul on April 9, 1915. It arrived at
Herat on August 24, 1915 and when they were received in durbar by the
Governor, they showed him the proclamation of jehad issued with the authority
of the Sultan of Turkey and promised that if Afghanistan would take part in the
Holy War, Germany would lend officers and would arrange for cession of
Afghanistan of India as far as Bombay and Turkistan as far as Samarkand.55 The
main object of the Mission was to get favour of the Amir Habibullah of
Afghanistan to take the German side and make Kabul a base for military training
of Indians and their armed infiltration into India.56 Moreover, the Mission on
their journey, visited the Turkish Sultan at Istanbul who gave him a letter for the
Amir of Afghanistan. Maulvi Barkatullah procured a fatwa from Shiekh-ul-
Islam asking the Muslims of India to join with the Hindus against the British.
The Mission reached Kabul on 2 October 1915.57 The members of the Mission
had been placed under a strong guard and they were not allowed to associate
freely with the populace. According to James Campbell Ker, the Mission was
not received with any warmth by the Amir of Afghanistan. The Amir told the
Germans that he would not give them any assistance and directed them to leave
the country by early 1916.58 Though the official attitude of the Afghan
Government was not favourable, the Mission did receive some sympathy from
local newspapers. In 1916, due to the illness of Mahmud Tarzi, the editor of the
Siraj-ul-Akhbar, Mohammad Barakartullah undertook the responsibility to
publish the article. In the issue of April 1916, the speech of Taraknath Das was
indeed published. In his speech, he praised the work of the German officers
employed in training the Ottoman Army and the intrepidity and bravery of the
Turks. He points out that it was Germany and Austria who declared War and not
the allies, that their reason for doing so was to purify the earth of the brutal
atrocities practiced on mankind by their enemies and to save the unfortunate
habitants of India, Egypt, Persia, Morocco and Africa from the English, French
and Russians who had forcibly seized their countries and reduced them to
slavery.59
‘A Provisional Government of India’ was formed in Kabul on December 1,
1915. Mahendra Pratap was its President. Mohammad Barkatullah and Maulvi
Obeidullah were appointed as the Prime Minister and Home Minister
respectively.60 This ‘Provisional Government’ sent several letters to the royal
princes of India as also one each to the King of Nepal and the Czar of Russia for
collaborative onslaught on the British. Maulvi Obedullah Sindhi wrote series of
letters to different influential persons of the Muslim world, describing the
constitution of the Pan Islamic Army (Army of God) with headquarter at
Medina. These letters were written on Yellow silk and sown up inside the lining
of the coat of a special messenger who was to convey them in person to Mahmud
JSPS 26:1&2 188
Hasan for sending to proper places.61 Those Indians who had been under
detention were released and some of them took up various secretarial jobs under
this Provisional Government. In February 1916, Mahendra Pratap and Maulvi
Obeidullah sent secret invitation to Abul Kalam Azad to join them at Kabul.62
In March 1916, two Indians named Shamsher Singh and Mirza Mohammad Ali
accompanied by two servants named Aya Singh and Abdul Haq were dispatched
from Kabul with letters to the Governor of Russian Turkistan and to the Czar
of Russia. They also carried a letter, signed by Mohammad Barakatullah to the
officer in-charge on the Russian Front, asking him to help the party in their
journey.63 The Provisional Government also proposed to form an alliance with
the Turkish Government. In order to achieve this objective Obeidullah addressed
a letter to his friend, Maulana Mahmud Hasan. Another letter was written by
Mohammad Mian Ansari to Sheikh Abdur Rahim of Hyderabad. These letters
described the progress of Pan Islamic movement in Kabul and India, the arrival
of the Government Turkish Mission and the formation of the Provisional
Government.64 In August 1916, the Silk letters fell into the hands of the Punjab
Government. Maulana Mahmud Hasan and four of his companions were
arrested at the end of 1916. Thus, the Silk Letter Conspiracy did not produce
any positive result for the revolutionaries either.65 W.O. Von Hentig left
Afghanistan in late 1916, having realized that Amir Habibullah was too much
under the influence of British to agree to a military campaign against India.
Mahendra Pratap continued working in Afghanistan, but was finally expelled
under pressure from the British.66
Split in the Ghadar Party
The German financial assistance created serious problems in the internal
administration of the Ghadar Party. In January 1917, there was a tussle among
the leaders of Ghadar Party over the funds received by Ram Chandra from the
German Government. The leaders of the Ghadar Party were dissatisfied with
Ram Chandra. This dissatisfaction was frequently mentioned in official reports.
The most prominent among the dissatisfied was Bhai Bhagwan Singh who
‘desired’ to become the chief of the Ghadar Party. After his return from Panama,
he demanded an inspection of Ram Chandra’s account and suspended him for
six weeks on the ground that he had used funds subscribed by Indians in Panama
for immoral purposes. In a meeting of the leading members, Bhai Bhagwan
Singh proposed that Ram Chandra should hand over the funds and leave San
Francisco. Ram Chandra made a counter proposal that secret work should be
managed by a committee consisted of Ram Chandra, Bishan Singh Hindi and
Harish Chandra. In the meeting, it was decided that Ram Chandra should not
hold the position until his accounts were examined and approved.67
On January 6, 1917, a meeting of prominent Ghadar leaders was held. Harish
Chandra Gupta presented his report on the accounts. He reported that money
received by Ram Chandra had not been spent on the objects for which it had
been given and false reports were sent to Germany. As a result of this report,
Ram Chandra resigned from editorship of the Ghadar 68 Subsequently, Ram
189 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy
Chandra held a meeting with H.C. Gupta at Ashram Council on 13 January 1917
and developed an understanding with him. After hearing Ram Chandra’s
explanation, H.C. Gupta concluded that his first opinion about Ram Chandra’s
account was hasty. He said Ram Chandra may have been ‘careless but not been
dishonest’. The Council passed a resolution declining to accept Ram Chandra’s
resignation. Next day, Ram Chandra went to Yugantar Ashram to get possession
of the Ashram’s papers but Bhai Bhagwan Singh drove him out from the press.69
As a result, the Ghadar Party had clearly split into two factions. One faction was
mobilized under the leadership of Bhai Bhagwan Singh and they took possession
of the Ghadar Press at 436 Hill Street, San Francisco and started publishing
issues of Ghadar separately. The first issue of Ghadar under Bhai Bhagwan
Singh’s editorship came out on March 14, 1917. But he was not so successful in
getting money for Ghadar funds from the Germans.70 When he was forming a
new party, Bhai Bhagwan Singh telegraphed Lajpat Rai to come and take charge
of the whole revolutionary movement, but the latter declined saying that he had
no past connection with Bhai Bhagwan Singh and did not wish to have one now,
as their methods of working differed. Ram Chandra installed his new printing
press at 1017, Valencia Street, San Francisco and started publishing Ghadar. He
published the first issue of Ghadar on February 7, 1917.71 In this issue, he
printed the names of patrons and staff of his group.72
Patrons
Mahendra Pratap Editor- Ram Chandra
Lala Hardayal Sub Editor-Gobind Bihari Lal
Mohammad Barkatullah Printer- Sunder Singh Ghali.
According to Official Reports, the division in the Ghadar Party occurred because
of disagreement over holding ranks within the Party. In a meeting at Sacramento
on 27 February 1917, there was much criticism of Ram Chandra’s autocratic
methods and for dismissing four men from the Ghadar Press. In another meeting
held under the presidency of Umrao Singh, speeches were delivered against Ram
Chandra accusing him for misappropriating party funds.73 Ram Chandra
defended himself in a speech which he delivered in a meeting of Ghadar leaders
at Sacramento. He remarked:
“Listen brothers, I wish to speak to you about things
that have been in my mind for a long time. In the first
place remember we are being looked upon with
jealous eyes. The Ghadar is not edited with money
but with brains. Our enemies are trying to stop it. But
today I am very sorry to say that our brethren are
going to stop it. It is said that I have taken money that
belongs to the fund. This is absolutely untrue. If there
were hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars,
they would all be for the Ghadar alone. I and my
wife sometimes eat only once a day. I do not wish to
JSPS 26:1&2 190
say anything more about myself. People are only
jealous nothing more. You have no right to question
the accounts. Barkatullah, Bhagwan Singh, Lala
Hardayal and Ajit Singh are on their way to America.
They will do everything and will be in a position to
know whether I have done wrong or right.”
The Hindu-German Trials
After his speech, Ram Chandra’s supporters (about 100 in number) left the meeting.
But others (about 50 in number) remained behind still accusing Ram Chandra.74 On
April 5, 1917, the United States of America joined the War supporting the British
side. This highly significant event altered the whole context in which the Ghadar
Party had been functioning in the USA. The British Government mounted pressure
on the US Government to take urgent action against the Indians for their anti-British
activities on her territories. Thus, within two days of America’s entry into the War,
the U.S. Attorney John W. Preston arrested most of the prominent Indian
Nationalists including Ram Chandra, Bishan Singh, Gopal Singh, Nidhan Singh,
C.K. Chakravarty and Taraknath Das. German agents in the USA like Frank Bopp,
Von Schack, and Wilhelm Von Brinchen etc. were also arrested. Both Germans and
the Ghadar activists were charged with sending men and arms to India in an attempt
to usurp British Raj. They were also charged under Section 37 of the Federal Penal
Code for violating the neutrality of the United States.75 The Conspiracy Case, also
popularly known as Chicago Trials or the Hindu German Conspiracy Case, was
instituted in San Francisco by the United States Government against the Germans
and Indians. These trials began on 22 November and ended on 3 April 1918.76 The
trials are considered a “wild goose chase” amongst historians and certainly
weakened Ghadar activism in San Francisco. They were one of longest and most
costly trials America had seen.77 Among the trial of 105 persons, 36 were Indians,
the rest being German Consular, officials and American businessman and
professionals.78 The German agents - Frank Bopp, Von Schack, Wilhelm Von
Brinchen were also convicted in a supplementary trial. Franze Bopp and Von Schack
got two years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.79 Jacobson, George Boem and
Albert Wehde were sentenced to three years of imprisonment and a $13,000 fine for
each. Among the Indians, Bhai Bhagwan Singh and Santokh Singh were given
eighteen months and twenty months imprisonment respectively. H.L. Gupta was
sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and given a $200 fine.80 The trials ended with
a dramatic event. On the last day, Bhai Ram Singh Dhuleta, belonging to the group
of Bhai Bhagwan Singh, shot Ram Chandra dead in the court premises.
Immediately, one of the marshals shot at Bhai Ram Singh as well. The Ghadar
leaders were greatly upset with the attitude of Ram Chandra.81 For many years, this
episode of Ram Chandra’s murder continued to cause friction between different
groups of the Ghadar Party in the West Coast of America as well as in India. The
critical question was why was Ram Chandra murdered in the court premises?
According to A.B Ganguly, there were some allegations against Ram Chandra that
191 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy
he had been working as a spy of the British Government. Therefore, true Ghadarites
could not but think of murdering him.82
The Hindu-German Trials effectively nipped the growing seeds of anti-British
sentiments in the United States in the bud. The Indo-German Conspiracy disclosed
that there was no scope for reviving revolutionary activities once again in the USA.
The trials demoralized the Indian community as they realized they ‘mistakenly
trusted’ the movement’s leaders. It became increasingly difficult to ascertain who
was trustworthy within the community. After the trials, the Ghadar was, in essence,
disbanded as most of the leaders were in Jail. After the trials, the Ghadar transformed
into a quiet and subdued underground operation. The Berlin India Committee, after
1917, devoted its energy mainly to the propaganda of war, giving up all hopes of a
rebellion in India. The First World War ended with the complete defeat of the Axis
Powers and Germany ceased to be the theatre of the revolutionary activities of the
Indians.83
Conclusion
Thus, the Ghadar Party in the United States, the Berlin India Committee in Germany
and various German officials in the United States and Germany came together to
create a revolutionary uprising in India. This alliance was built on a common
understanding: the Ghadarites wanted to drive the British out of India through an
armed insurrection with German help and the German Government sought to limit
the use of British troops on European fronts during the Great War by creating trouble
in India by supporting the Ghadarites. If successful the uprising may have forced the
British to send back their loyal Indian troops from the Western Front in Europe to
India. Different schemes were organised by the Ghadarites and the Germans to
supply arms and ammunition to India for the revolution. The Indo-German Mission
was sent to Kabul with the purpose to get favour of Afghanistan against British rule.
But after the entry of the USA into the War, this ‘conspiracy’ could not materialize.
The Ghadar party leaders and German officials in the United States were put on trial
on the grounds that they had violated the United States’ neutrality laws during the
War. After the trials, Indian revolutionary activities declined considerably in the
USA.
Notes
1 R.C. Majumdar, History of Freedom Movement in India, Vol. II,
(Calcutta: KLM, 1971), p. 402. See also, Bipin Chandra, India’s
Struggle for Independence 1857-1947, (New Delhi: Penguin Books,
1988), p. 146.
2 Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World
War 1914-1918, Rare Documents, Accession No. 11276, DBYL,
Jalandhar, p. 3.
JSPS 26:1&2 192
3 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922: In the
Background of International Developments, (Patna: Bharati Bhawan,
1971), pp. 82-83.
4 Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World
War 1914-1918, p. 3.
5 George MacMunn, Turmoil & Tragedy in India: 1914 and After,
(Delhi: S.S. Publishers, 1989), p. 116.
6 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922, p. 83.
7 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, (Calcutta:
Asiatic Society, 1960), p. 239. See also, Indian Revolutionary
Committee Berlin Activities in the First World War 1914-18, p. 2;
George MacMunn, Turmoil & Tragedy in India: 1914 and After, p.
116.
8 Weekly Report of Director of Criminal Intelligence (hereafter DCI’s),
15 September 1914: Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings,
GOI, December 1914, File Nos. 216-217 (NAI, New Delhi).
9 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German
Conspiracy”, Manuscript, Accession No. 113313, DBYH, Jalandhar,
March 22, 1973, p. 4. (emphasis added)
10 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German
Conspiracy”, Manuscript, p. 6.
11 Translation:
(i) Go Back to your country for mutiny: the people have been
transformed;
(ii) The Firanghee has been exposed; Germany is going to defeat
England;
(iii) Germans have taken the whole of France; and Russia too has been
dismantled: Home Department, Political B, Proceedings, GOI,
October 1915, File No. 91 (NAI, New Delhi).
12 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German
Conspiracy”, Manuscript, p. 6.
13 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 238.
193 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy
14 DCI’s Weekly Report, 16 March 1915: Home Department, Political-
B, Proceedings, GOI, April 1915, File Nos. 412-415 (NAI, New
Delhi).
15 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German
Conspiracy”, p. 6.
16 Sohan Singh Josh, Hindustan Gadar Party: A Short History, Vol. II,
(New Delhi: People’s Publishing House, 1977), p. 13.
17 DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 August 1915: Home Department, Political-
B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New
Delhi).
18 DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 August 1915: Home Department, Political-
B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New
Delhi).
19 Raj Kumar, Empire, The Punjab and The First World War,
Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, (Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev University,
2016), pp. 138-45.
20 “The Indo-German Plan to Liberate India”, Heritage Bulletin, July 23,
1996, No. 3, DBYL, Jalandhar, p. 25.
21 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German
Conspiracy”, p. 8.
22 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German
Conspiracy”, p. 4.
23 DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 August 1915: Home Department, Political-
B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New
Delhi).
24 Champakaraman Pillai was an Indian born political activist and
revolutionary. He was born into a Tamil family of Trivandrum, Kerela.
His father Chinnaswami Pillai was a head constable in the Headquarter
office, Trabancore. He sent him to learn engineering at Zurich. In June
1912, a body called the “International Pro-India Committee” was
formed in Zurich. Champakaraman Pillai was its president. In October
1914, he joined Berlin India Committee and merged the Pro-India
Committee into it: James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India
1907-1917, pp. 240-41.
JSPS 26:1&2 194
25 DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 August 1915: Home Department, Political-
B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New
Delhi). See also, James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-
1917, pp. 241-42.
26 DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 August 1915: Home Department, Political-
B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New
Delhi).
27 N.N. Bhattacharya, “Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1891-1919”, The
Panjab Past and Present, Patiala, Vol. VIII, October 1974, pp. 351-
365.
28 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922, pp. 91-92.
29 Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World
War 1914-1918, Rare Documents, DBYL, Jalandhar, p. 6.
30 C.K. Chakravarti was born in 1882 and belonged to Bakarganj district
of Bengal. He absconded after his connection with the Alipur Bomb
Case in 1908 came to surface and lived in America. In January 1909,
he left Bombay. In February, he was in Paris with members of Indian
revolutionary party. After a short stay here, and an equally short visit
to the “India House” group in London, he went on to New York where
he arrived on March 18, 1909. He paid a short visit to Germany in 1916.
He was appointed by the German Government as an agent in the USA.
He was regularly in touch with Berlin India Committee and presented
his report to the German Government:, DCI’s Weekly Report, 25
November 1916; Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI,
November 1916, File No. 452-453. See also, DCI’s Weekly Report: 31
March 1917; Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, March
1917, File Nos. 625-628 (NAI, New Delhi).
31 Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World
War 1914-1918, p. 6.
32 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922, p. 94.
33 DCI’s Weekly Report, 30 August 1915: Home Department, Political-
B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1915, File Nos. 552-556 (NAI, New
Delhi).
34 Ram Chandra popularly known as Ram Chandra Peshawari, was born
in 1887 in Peshawar district. In 1907, he joined as a clerk in the
Railway office at Lahore. He took prominent part in the agitation
carried out by Sardar Ajit Singh in 1907. In October 1908, he became
195 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy
editor of a weekly paper called Akash, started by Amir Chand. In March
1913, he arrived at Seattle (U.S.A). In May 1913, he accompanied Lala
Hardayal on lecturing tour in the Pacific Coast. In January 1914, he
went to San Francisco to join the staff of Ghadar. After the departure
of Lala Hardayal from America in March 1914, he became editor of
the Ghadar: DCI’s Weekly Report, 27 April 1918: Home Department,
Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, May 1918, File Nos. 23-26 (NAI, New
Delhi). See also, David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu
German Conspiracy”, pp. 7, 29.
35 DCI’s Weekly Report, 25 November 1916: Home Department,
Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, November 1916, File Nos. 452-453
(NAI, New Delhi).
36 David Machado, “The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German
Conspiracy”, pp. 9, 29.
37 Khushwant Singh and Satindra Singh, Ghadar 1915: India’s First
Armed Revolution, (New Delhi: R & K Publishing House, 1966), p. 48.
38 Meverick was an oil tanker which was purchased from Craize
Steamship Co. for $27,000. It sailed from San Pedro (Los Angles) on
23 April 1915 for Socorro Island. The Annie Larsen was loaded with
arms and ammunition and sailed from San Diego on March 15, 1915.
The plan was that both ships would meet at Socorro Island where
Maverick would take over the arms and ammunition and proceed to
India for its delivery to Indian revolutionaries. The Schooner Annie
Larsen arrived at its destination on March 18, 1915 but Maverick could
not arrive. Therefore, the Annie Larsen returned without delivering
consignment. The Maverick actually reached at the meeting place on
April 30, 1915, almost a month and half after Annie Larsen left.
Therefore, the whole scheme failed: Foreign and Political Department,
Secret-War, Proceedings, GOI, June 1917, File Nos. 1-46 (NAI, New
Delhi). See also, Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in
the First World War 1914-1918, p. 8.
39 DCI’s Weekly Report, 12 August 1916: Home Department, Political-
B, Proceedings, GOI, August 1916, File Nos. 436-439 (NAI, New
Delhi).
40 G.S. Deol, The Role of Ghadar Party in the National Movement,
(Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1969), p. 156.
41 David Machado, The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy,
Manuscript, p. 23.
JSPS 26:1&2 196
42 DCI’s Weekly Report, 11 May 1915: Home Department, Political-B,
Proceedings, GOI, May 1915, File Nos. 855-858 (NAI, New Delhi).
43 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 264.
44 Heritage Bulletin, July 23, 1996, No. 3, DBYL, Jalandhar, p. 36.
45 G.S. Deol, The Role of Ghadar Party in the National Movement, p. 157.
46 DCI’s Weekly Report, 2 March 1918: Home Department, Political-B,
Proceedings, GOI, March 1918, File Nos. 399-402 (NAI, New Delhi).
See also, F. C. Isemonger and J. Slattery, An Account of The Ghadar
Conspiracy (1913-15), (Meerut: Archana Publications, 1998, First
Published 1919), p. 154.
47 Turkey joined hands with the Germans in the First World War on
October 31, 1914: Raj Kumar, Empire, The Punjab and The First
World War, p. 166; R.C. Majumdar, History of Freedom Movement in
India, Vol. II, p. 412.
48 N.N. Bhattacharya, “Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1891-1919”, p.
362.
49 H.K. Puri, Ghadar Movement: Ideology, Organisation & Strategy, p.
93.
50 DCI’s Weekly Report, 15 September 1914: Home Department,
Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, September 1915, File Nos. 216-217
(NAI, New Delhi).
51 Taraknath Das was a member of the first revolutionary society in
Calcutta in 1903. He took a leading part in the formation of the Decca
Anusilan Samiti in 1905. He left India in 1906 and after a short stay in
Japan, he went to America, where he entered the University of
California at Berkeley. In 1908, he started a revolutionary paper Free
Hindustan from Berkeley: DCI’s Weekly Report, 29 December 1914:
Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, January 1915, File
Nos. 278-282 (NAI, New Delhi). See also, James Campbell Ker,
Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 247.
52 DCI’s Weekly Report, 7 September 1915: Home Department,
Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, September1915, File Nos. 582-585
(NAI, New Delhi).
53 N. N. Bhattacharya, “Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1891-1919”, p.
363.
197 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy
54 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922, p. 107.
55 DCI’s Weekly Report, 21 September 1915: Home Department,
Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, September1915, File Nos. 582-
585(NAI, New Delhi).
56 H.K. Puri, Ghadar Movement: Ideology, Organisation & Strategy, p.
98.
57 J.S. Grewal, H.K. Puri, and Indu Banga (Eds.), The Ghadar Movement,
Background, Ideology, Action and Legacies, (Patiala: Punjabi
University, 2013), p. 167.
58 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 277. See
also, DCI’s Weekly Report, 21 September 1915: Home Department,
Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, September1915, File Nos. 582-585
(NAI, New Delhi).
59 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 278.
60 Mahendra Pratap, popularly known as Kunwar Mahendra Pratap was
born in 1886. He got his early education under British headmasters and
Muslim teachers all from Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College
Aligarh. In December 1914, he left India for Europe to liberate India
from the clutches of the colonial rule with outside support. He had
become a big menace there for talking about foreign rule in India. He
also tried his best to utilize the situation during the World War I to free
India. He was one of the important members of the Indo-German
Mission in Kabul. On December 1, 1915, he set up the first Provisional
Government of India: James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India
1907-1917, pp. 244, 277, 278. See also, Indian Revolutionary
Committee Berlin Activities in the First World War 1914-1918, p. 8.
61 Maulvi Obeidullah was a converted Sikh who had been trained as
Maulvi at Deoband School in the Saharanpur district, the United
Provinces. He spent twelve years in Sind where he became an
influential person and founded several Mohammedan Schools. He was
able to put influence with his militant and anti-British ideas some of
the staff, students and Maulana Mahmud Hasan, head Maulvi of the
School. Maulvi Obeidullah wished to spread over India a Pan-Islamic
and anti-British movement through the agency of Maulvis trained in
the Deoband School. When the First World War broke out, he began to
travel the country; he made his way to Sind, where he visited his friends
and fellow Pan-Islamists and eventually proceeded via Quetta and
Kandahar to Kabul arriving at the beginning of October 1915: Raj
JSPS 26:1&2 198
Kumar, Empire, The Punjab and The First World War, p. 183; James
Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 283; Michael
O’ Dwyer, India As I Knew It (1885-1925), (Delhi: Mittal Publications,
1988 First Published 1925), pp. 180-181; N.N. Bhattacharya, “Indian
Revolutionaries Abroad 1891-1919”, p. 362.
62 A. C. Bose, Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1905-1922, p. 111.
63 DCI’s Weekly Report, 22 July 1916: Home Department, Political-B,
Proceedings, GOI, July 1916, File Nos. 441-445 (NAI, New Delhi).
64 Michael O’ Dwyer, India As I Knew It (1885-1925), p. 179. See also,
Sedition Committee Report 1918, (Calcutta: Government Printing
Press, 1918), p. 178.
65 Sedition Committee Report 1918, p. 179.
66 Indian Revolutionary Committee Berlin Activities in the First World
War 1914-1918, p. 10.
67 DCI’s Weekly Report, 31 March 1917: Home Department, Political-
B, Proceedings, GOI, March 1917, File Nos. 625-628 (NAI, New
Delhi).
68 DCI’s Weekly Report, 31 March 1917: Home Department, Political-
B, Proceedings, GOI, March 1917, File Nos. 625-628 (NAI, New
Delhi).
69 DCI’s Weekly Report, 28 April 1917: Home Department, Political-B,
Proceedings, GOI, April 1917, File Nos. 700-703 (NAI, New Delhi).
70 DCI’s Weekly Report, 28 April 1917: Home Department, Political-B,
Proceedings, GOI, April 1917, File Nos. 700-703 (NAI, New Delhi).
71 James Campbell Ker, Political Trouble in India 1907-1917, p. 283.
72 DCI’s Weekly Report, 28 April 1917: Home Department, Political-B,
Proceedings, GOI, April 1917, File Nos. 700-703 (NAI, New Delhi).
73 DCI’s Weekly Report, 9 May 1916: Home Department, Political-B,
Proceedings, GOI, May 1916, File Nos. 577-580 (NAI, New Delhi).
74 DCI’s Weekly Report, 4 November 1916: Home Department,
Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, November 1916, File Nos. 452-453
(NAI, New Delhi).
199 Nijjar: Revisiting the Conspiracy
75 David Machado, The Ghadar Party and the Hindu German Conspiracy,
Manuscript, p. 33.
76 Home Department, Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, December 1917,
File Nos. 225-226. See also, Home Department, Political-B,
Proceedings, GOI, May 1918, File Nos. 23-26 (NAI, New Delhi).
77 S. Siddiqui, “Wasted Heroism: Ghadar Propaganda and the Human
Cost of Rebellion”, p. 87.
78 J. S. Grewal, H.K. Puri and Indu Banga (Eds.), The Ghadar Movement,
Background, Ideology, Action and Legacies, p. 170.
79 DCI’s Weekly Report, 4 May 1918: Home Department, Political-B,
Proceedings, GOI, May 1918, File Nos. 581-584 (NAI, New Delhi). 80 Jacobson was an agent of German Consul at Chicago. He and H. L.
Gupta were mainly responsible for organizing the expedition to Siam
and various attempts at running. Albert Wehde and George Boehm
were sent to the East by Jacobson to supervise the work of the plot:
DCI’s Weekly Report, 17 November 1917: Home Department,
Political-B, Proceedings, GOI, November 1917, File Nos. 471-474; F.
C. Isemonger and J. Slattery, An Account of the Ghadar Conspiracy
(1913-15), p. 158.
81 DCI’s Weekly Report, 27 April 1918: Home Department, Political-B,
Proceedings, GOI, May 1918, File Nos. 23-26.
82 Anil Baran Ganguly, Ghadar Revolution in America, (Delhi:
Metropolitan, 1980), pp. 98-99.
83 N. N. Bhattacharya, “Indian Revolutionaries Abroad 1891-1919”, p.
364.