It wasn’t just a regular Sunday morning it was the festival of Baisakhi. I woke up early in the morning that day. I wore my favorite fancy shoes and clothes that my mother would make me wear only for parties. I was ready and went to the local market with my father. I could see children of my age running around with balloons in their hands. Everything was blissful. When we reached near a public place, we could hear speech blaring out of loudspeakers. I saw that a man in a blue turban and a big beard was addressing and instigating people for the arrest of two men Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal. Everyone present in the gathering was listening to him so intently that my father too stopped to listen. I couldn’t see him properly so my father made me sit on his shoulders. I felt so important as I was now the tallest person in the crowd. The man in the turban was talking about strength, and was trying to convey his words in the most impactful manner.

It was a nice moment there a man in a red turban was playing a ‘shehnai.’ Suddenly! We were interrupted by a loud noise, the gates of this place were shut and people in anger were now running towards us. They followed the instruction of their leader who yelled, “FIRE.” These people started aiming at everyone they saw. Everyone was trying to save themselves from the gunshots, some jumped into the well nearby, while some couldn't survive it. There was total chaos everyone started running hither tither. I fell down from my father’s shoulders with a thud and noticed that my father was bleeding. He was shot by one of those aggressive men. I was sitting their and crying out loud. I could hear screams and cries all around me. The whole Amritsar turned into a pool of blood.

I was sitting helpless near my father who was bleeding because of the gunshot. He shouted, “Run Diljit! Save Yourself.” I didn’t want to leave my father in that condition, but I obeyed his orders and found my way out of the place through a railing. Though I survived the massacre but our country was scarred for life. There was terror in the minds of many, but some rose in anger. The next day, I read in the newspaper that the man with the different hat was ‘General Dyer.’ The reports said there were 379 identified dead, and approximately 1,200 wounded, of whom 192 were seriously injured. There were riots in the city. The Sikhs were indignant about the loss of their people and they wanted to take revenge from the British men. There were many children like me who lost their family that day. I understood that “If we don’t end War, the War will end us. That day of Baisakhi became a nightmare for me. Every time I closed my eyes I could hear the screams, and could see the blood I would recall my father’s last words to me. I never expected that I have to manage everything on my own from the age of nine.

As I was growing up, I learnt the reasons behind the whole massacre. Everywhere I could read only one man’s name and it was General Michael O’Dwyer, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, British India between 1913 and 1919. Then in 1931 I learned about the man Udham Singh, who was prisoned for trying to kill General Michael O’Dwyer. I knew that he could be the man who would help me in getting justice for those who lost their lives on 13 April 1919. I wanted to help him so I started training myself with weapons. I learned to use all sorts of guns and in 1933 when Udham Singh was released; I was all set to help him in removing the scar put by General Michael O’Dwyer from my nation. I met him when he came to Punjab, and he was happy in working with me and getting justice for the entire nation. One night, when Udham Singh and I were discussing about the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. He told me that he was twenty years old at that time. He was brought up by the Central Khalsa Orphanage after he lost his parents at an early age. He was at the Jallianwala Bagh along with his friends from orphanage to serve water to the large gathering. The massacre scared him like millions of Indians and that was when General Michael O’Dwyer became his target.  

Soon we travelled to England with the aim of assassinating General Michael O’Dwyer. On March 13, 1940, Udham Singh and I learned about a joint meeting of the East India Association and the Central Asian Society at Caxton Hall, London. I helped Udham Singh get an entry pass for the meeting and was sitting behind a window pointing a gun at Dwyer. Udham Singh finally took his chance and shot General Michael O’Dwyer in his head. He told me to flee back to India, after he kills Dwyer. I heard from various newspapers that, Udham Singh didn’t flee from the spot and was arrested immediately. He waited for several years for his turn to kill the General. He said that, “Dwyer wanted to crush the spirit of my people, so I crushed him.” He told me to never tell anyone that I helped him in killing Dwyer. I was happy that day, because the man took away so many lives, finally met his downfall. 

After so much destruction I understood one thing that peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding. General Dyer shot a large number of people that day because they violated the Martial Law, which said “More than four people cannot assemble at place.” He chose violence over peace and that was the last day of his life that he lived in peace. Nobody knows how painful it gets for the person who lost his family because someone else got aggressive and brutal. Battles only lead to destruction and the loss of loved ones and neither of them is good for the nation.