Pearay Mohan
Pearay Mohan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Pearay Mohan Dattatreya c. 1895 Lahore |
| Died | 23 December 1936 |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, Lahore High Court Writer Politician |
| Years active | 1914-1936 |
| Notable work | Fasānah-i-Jung-i-Yurap (1914) An Imaginary Rebellion and How It was Supressed (1920) |
Pearay Mohan Dattatreya (c. 1895 - 23 December 1936) was an Indian lawyer, senior assistant editor of The Tribune, and author of An Imaginary Rebellion and How It was Supressed (1920), published shortly after the release of the Indian Congress report on the Punjab disturbances of 1919, and in which included a foreword by Lala Lajpat Rai.
Biography
[edit]Pearay Mohan was born in 1895 in Lahore, to Brij Mohan Dattatreya Kaifi, an Urdu and Persian scholar and poet.[1][2] In 1914 he co-authored with the journalist, Bishan Sahai Azad, a text in Urdu on the story of the war in Europe, titled Fasānah-i-Jung-i-Yurap.[3] In 1915 he graduated from Government College, Lahore, having received the top prize in economics and philosophy.[1] He gained a law degree in 1917 and began practicing in Lahore, before being called to the Bar.[2][4]
In December 1919 Mohan wrote an account of martial law in Punjab, titled An Imaginary Rebellion and How It was Supressed, published in 1920 shortly after the release of the Indian Congress report on the Punjab disturbances of 1919, and in which included a foreword by Lala Lajpat Rai.[5][4] In it, he criticised the British Raj for fabricating enemies and situations for the purpose of expanding harsh laws such as the Rowlett Act.[5] Such laws, he noted, may be used to cause "widespead injustice and terror...when the local government is in a state of panic or excitement".[5] He also believed that the approver Hans Raj worked with the British to gather crowds at Jallianwalla Bagh shortly prior to the massacre there.[6] Upon its release it was banned and copies confiscated by the British government in India.[1][2] In November 1920 he joined The Tribune, for which he became senior assistant editor, working with Kali Nath Roy.[2][7]
Mohan brought several cases to court, including some against the Railway for reserving special seats for Anglo-Indians on trains.[1] In 1930 he successfully filed a suit against the Secretary of State for India, for his own wrongful search and detention by the senior superintendent of police of Lahore, James Scott, when the Simon Commission arrived in Lahore on 30 October 1928.[1][8][9] He later became senior vice-president of the Punjab Journalists’ Association, and was planning to contribute further in politics.[1]
Mohan died on 13 December 1936, at the age of 41 years.[1]
Selected publications
[edit]- An Imaginary Rebellion And How It Was Suppressed (1920). Lahore: Khosla Brothers. 1920.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Bakaya, Ravi M. (September 2005). "Dr. Ram Mohan Datatreya". Kasmir Sentinel. 10 (7, 8, 9): 22–23 – via yumpu.
- ^ a b c d Walia, Varinder; Bagga, Neeraj (13 April 2006). "Jallianwala Bagh revisited". The Tribune. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Das, Santanu (2018). "Ambivalence and dissent: from war pamphlets to women's folksongs". India, Empire, and First World War Culture: Writings, Images, and Songs. Cambridge University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-107-08158-1.
- ^ a b "Our Library Table". The Hindustan Review. 41–42: 87. 1920.
- ^ a b c Condos, Mark (2017). "Intorduction: fear, panic, and the violence of Empire". The Insecurity State. Cambridge University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-108-41831-7.
- ^ Pathak, Rashmi (2007). "Firing in the Bagh". Punjab Through the Ages. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. p. 58. ISBN 81-7625-738-9.
- ^ Singha, Radhika (2020). "The ends of War: homecoming for the Indian soldier and follower, 1914-21". The Coolie's Great War: Indian Labour in a Global Conflict, 1914-1921. Oxford University Press. p. 293. ISBN 978-0-19-752558-6.
- ^ "Mr J. A. Scott denies allegations". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 3 July 1930. p. 7.
- ^ "Journalist's pursuit for damages: RS.100 for wrongful restraint". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 16 August 1930. p. 6.