ABSTRACT
In a moment of supreme indignation, which brought his tortured spirit some relief, the Poet had given up his knighthood, and had written a memorable letter to the Viceroy explaining the reasons which compelled him to take such a step. This was his own personal act of nonco-operation with a Government which he was convinced had committed unpardonable wrongs. The news of this gesture of the Poet ran quickly through the world, and cleared the air as nothing else could possibly have done at that critical time. For very few who lived outside India knew what had been really taking place under the cover of Martial Law; and these things came as a great shock later, when General Dyer gave his evidence before the Commission, and defended his own actions at Amritsar on the ground of creating a “ moral effect” in the Punjab.
