scarcely believe that such frightful acts of brutality could be possible in the British Government till the Hunter Commission confirmed their worst apprehensions.
But it was long before the Government could be forced to appoint a Commission of Inquiry. And at last only a Committee was appointed while all India was anxious for a Royal Commission. It was therefore decided to proceed with an independent enquiry. Mr. Gandhi headed the Congress Sub Committee and carried out a most searching and thorough investigation. It was a pity he could not lead the Congress evidence before the Hunter Committee, owing to certain diiierences between the two Committees in regard to the freedom of certain witnesses then under confinement. Suffice it to say that the Congress Committee decided not to give evidence, or in any way participate with the Hunter Committee.
But under the able and indefatigable guidance of Mr. Gandhi the Congress Committee collected a great mass of material for judging the Punjab disorders. They examined over 1,700 witnesses and recorded the evidence of no less than 650. Mr. Gandhi’s participation io the Committee was itself a guarantee to its merit as an authoritative and responsible body. In fact no name could carry more weight than Mr. Gandhi’s in the matter of veracity in such an undertaking—an undertaking likely to prejudice and warp the judgment of many. When in April 1920 the Report was published it was hailed everywhere as an unanswerable document—the result of patient industry and dispassionate judgment on a most brutal and savage episode in contemporary history.
Soon after, the Hunter Report which was for many months in the hands of the Cabinet, was also issued, accompanied by a despatch by the Secretary of State. The Report recorded indeed many of the facts published already in the Congress Report, laid stress on the evils of Satyagraha, condoned the bloody exploits of Gen. Dyer as "an error of judgment" (a diplomatic euphemism for the slaughter of the innocents) and vindicated the statesmanship of Sir Michael O’Dwyer! The force of perversior
