An Imaginary Rebellion and How It was Supressed

An Imaginary Rebellion and How It was Supressed is a book written by Pearay Mohan, an Indian lawyer and assistant editor of The Tribune. It was published by Khosla Brothers in 1920, shortly after the release of the Indian Congress report on the Punjab disturbances of 1919. Included in it is a foreword by the Indian revolutionary, Lala Lajpat Rai.

An Imaginary Rebellion and How It was Supressed by Pearay Mohan, was first published by Khosla Brothers of Lahore in 1920, shortly after the release of the Indian Congress report on the Punjab disturbances of 1919.^[1] It was reprinted by Gyan Publishing House in 1999 in two volumes under the new title of The Punjab Rebellion of 1919 and How It was Supressed.^[1][2]

Written in December 1919, the book has three chapters, preceded by a preface by the author and a foreword by the Indian revolutionary, Lala Lajpat Rai, and followed by seven appendices and a supplement. In it, Mohan describes the tragedy at Punjab as a series of five acts; the lead up to the disturbances led by Sir Michael O'Dwyer, events of 10 April 1919 at Amritsar, the massacres, the exaggeration of mob violence and attempt to claim a rebellion, and the fifth act which was yet to occur.

Included in the text is Mohan's theory of the approver Hans Raj working with the British to gather crowds at Jallianwalla Bagh shortly prior to the massacre there.^[3] According to Mohan, the Punjab disturbances were a result of the harsh methods in recruiting labour from the villages.^[4]

Upon its publication in 1920, the book was immediately banned and copies confiscated by the British government in India.^[1][5]

British historian Mark Condos, in his book The Insecurity State (2017) described the titile as "provocative" and the book in general as "sensational and incendiary".^[6] The Tribune called the book "a virtual encyclopaedia on Punjab under martial law in 1919 ".^[5]

• An Imaginary Rebellion And How It Was Suppressed (1920). Lahore: Khosla Brothers. 1920.