Pitted against a powerful adversary, their heroics were short lived. When the Gadarites were arrested, British special courts conducted swift trials to have them executed or imprisoned. The state of the prisons, especially the cellular jail at Andaman and Nicobar Islands, was such that many Gadarites chose to die instead of suffering malnutrition, animal-like labour, and the cruelty inflicted upon them by British prison officials. But the impact of the Gadar movement was lasting.

Stamp of Gadar

Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh released a stamp commemorating the centenary of the Gadar movement at the 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas at Kochi, Kerala on January 8, 2013. It was followed by a Gadar Oration by Professor Harish Puri, author and professor. In 2013, at the Indian Republic Day function at the Consulate General of India in San Francisco, Mr Inder Singh, Chairman of GOPIO International released the Gadar stamp along with India’s Consul General. Mr Singh who immigrated to the USA from Punjab in the 1960s and lives in California, the American state where it all started 100 years ago, is the inspiration behind the Gadar book. His research on Gadarites is monumental, his drive and perseverance to make the Government of India acknowledge the forgotten Gadar movement in its Centennial year, extraordinary.

As of now, let’s all live with the simplicity of it all. The patriotic members of the Gadar party had powerful dreams. Some died without seeing their beloved India free from foreign rule. Some lived to see the beauty of their dreams come alive through India’s Independence in 1947, nearly 28 years after the movement had been completely crushed by the British. It was a moment in time when all they’d lived for, all they’d given up their youth for, had come true.