: Dr Kitchlew: The Forgotten Hero Of Jallianwala Bagh Who Fought For Unity #IndiaNEWS #Freedom fighter When the British passed the Rowlatt Act of 1919, Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew became the face of the protests,

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Dr Kitchlew: The Forgotten Hero Of Jallianwala Bagh Who Fought For Unity #IndiaNEWS #Freedom fighter
When the British passed the Rowlatt Act of 1919, Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew became the face of the protests, which saw people across faiths unite against the draconian legislation in Amritsar. In fact, through his life, he stood firmly for the principles of freedom, religious unity, non-violence and a united India undivided along communal lines.
A barrister by trade, Dr Kitchlew, alongside fellow freedom fighter Dr Satya Pal, pushed for a hartal/general strike, asking people to suspend businesses and participate in non-violent Satyagraha against their colonial rulers.
(Image above of Saifuddin Kitchlew courtesy Wikimedia Commons and Indian History Collective) 
His appeal for defiance against the act generated real fervour amongst the people of Punjab. In a public gathering on 30 March 1919, where nearly 30,000 gathered, he said, “The message of Mahatma Gandhi has been read to you. All citizens should be prepared for resistance. This does not mean that this sacred town or country should be flooded with blood. The resistance should be a passive one. Do not use harsh words in respect of any policeman or traitor which might cause him pain or lead to the possibility of a breach of peace. � (Courtesy The Print)
The Rowlatt Act, passed by the Imperial Legislative Council, empowered the colonial administration to censor the press at will, arrest people without warrants and detain them without evidence.
During the course of protests, both Dr Kitchlew and Dr Satya Pal had fostered a spirit of religious unity among the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs of Amritsar. There were chants of ‘Kitchlew ji ki jai’ and ‘Satyapal ji ki jai’ during an anti-government procession through the heart of Amritsar on 9 April 1919, where people from different religious communities came together to celebrate Ramnavami.
In his poem ‘Khooni Vaisakhi’, Punjabi poet Nanak Singh, who witnessed these events first hand in Amritsar including the Jallianwala Bagh massacre days later, references how Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs were celebrating the same festival together, how they were drinking water out of the same cup and eating food off the same plate. He goes on to describe the funeral processions after the massacre and how Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs walked side by side.
These Ramnavami celebrations showed the populace of Amritsar that if these communities were to overcome their differences, challenging British rule wouldn’t be such a daunting proposition. Witnessing the rise of communal harmony and growing disenchantment against the imposition of the Rowlatt Act compelled the British to arrest Kitchlew and Satya Pal on 10 April, sending them to Dharamshala.

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