THE CHAURI CHAURA TRAGEDY

To the Earl of Reading

Governor-general of British India
Delhi Headquarters

The Chauri Chaura Tragedy

Background
In the early 1920, the Indians had engaged in the non-cooperation movement which had
been begun by Mahatma Gandhi. The movement had made a massive impact on the British
authorities. The protesters used non-violent methods such as the famous Satyagraha,
organized by the Indian National Congress. Their goal was “swaraj”, the Hindi term for
“independence”.

The Incident
On 2nd February 1922, some of the volunteers, participating in the Non-cooperation
movement, had commenced protests over high price rates for meat in Chauri Chaura. The
protesters were arrested by the police and the leaders were imprisoned in the Chauri
Chaura police station. In response to this act, leaders of the non-cooperation movement
called a protest on the 5th of February.
On the 5th of February, approximately 2000 to 2500 protesters assembled near the Chauri
Chaura police station and demanded for the release of the leaders imprisoned in the police
station. Armed police were dispatched to control the situation while the crowd marched
towards the market and started shouting anti-government slogans. To frighten the crowd,
the policemen raised a warning by shooting bullets in the air. In turn, the protesters began
to throw stones at the policemen.
Sub-inspector Carl Howard ordered the policemen to open fire on the crowd, killing three
protesters and injuring approximately 17 people. The agitated mob advanced towards the
heavily outnumbered police, causing them to retreat. The infuriated crowd set fire to the
police station. The number of casualties reported were 22 where all of them were reported
dead. Another policeman succumbed to the burns at St. Mary Hospital, raising the total
reported deaths of 23.

Aftermath
In response to the killing of the police, British authorities declared martial law in and around
Chauri Chaura. Several raids were conducted, and hundreds of people were arrested.
On 12 February 1922, the Indian National Congress halted the Non-cooperation Movement
on the national level as a direct result of the Chauri Chaura tragedy. Gandhi was also
arrested and sentenced to six years of imprisonment. A total of 228 people was brought to
trial on charges of "rioting and arson" in conjunction with the Chauri Chaura affair. Of these
6 died while in police custody, while 172 were sentenced to death by hanging following
conviction in a trial which lasted eight months.
A storm of protest erupted over the verdicts, which were characterized as "legalized
murder" by Indian Communist leader M.N. Roy, who called for a general strike of Indian
workers.
On 20 April 1923, the Allahabad High Court reviewed the death verdicts; 19 death sentences
were confirmed and 110 were sentenced to prison for life, with the rest sentenced to long
terms of imprisonment.
Conclusion and recommendations
In an attempt of achieving independence, the Indian protesters had protested over “unfair”
laws administered by the British government. It is suggested that the British authorities
should be informed about such protests earlier and should plan out the possible outcomes
of the protests organized by the Indian National Congress.
It is believed that the policemen had run out of ammunition which caused the mob to rise
and set fire to the police station. It is recommended that the British authorities should
provide more supplies and ammunition in order to control any such protesting mobs in the
future.
Yours sincerely,

Daniel Hastings,
Inspector, Chauri Chaura
United Province