A mutiny with a bitter legacy

Just over a hundred years ago Irish soldiers serving in the British army in India mutinied against actions by the British government. The action had long-reaching effects

BY GERARD CASSINI

THE Connaught Rangers mutiny, also known as the India Gate mutiny, was a mutiny by soldiers in the Connaught Rangers regiment stationed at Jullundur (aka Jalandhar) on the plans of Punjab, India in 1920.

The Connaught Rangers were an Irish regiment within the British army. Their mutiny was driven by a combination of factors, but largely resentment at the British government’s treatment of Ireland, poor working conditions, and sympathy for the Indian independence movement.

The mutiny began on June 28, 1920, when five men of the Connaught Rangers based at the Wellington Barracks in the foothills of the Himalayas, laid down their arms and refused to obey orders. They had been ordered to fire on Indian civilians who were protesting against British rule, but they refused to do so. They locked themselves into part of the barracks for the night.

The following morning they refused their service to the British government until such time that the troops withdrew from Ireland and the country given its freedom. While they were Irish men, they were also British soldiers and refusal to obey an order is mutiny. is They lowered a

They lowered a union jack and raised an Irish tricolour.

The original five were soon joined by others.

The mutiny spread to other units of the Connaught Rangers stationed in India

Connaught Rangers

The protests were initially peaceful, but on the evening of July 1 around 30 members of the company at Solon, armed with bayonets, attempted to recapture their rifles from the company magazine which had been confiscated at the beginning of the mutiny.

The protests were

The two garrisons in the Punjab which were the focus of the mutiny, were soon occupied by loyal British troops.

The soldiers on guard at the magazine opened fire, killing two men and wounding another. The incident effectively brought the mutiny to an end, and the mutineers at both Jullundur and Solon were placed under armed guard. Sixty-one men were convicted for their role in the mutiny. Fourteen were sentenced to death by firing