The Ingress into India Ordinance, 1914, a law passed in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

in September 1914, at the outset of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, allowed the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

to screen, detain, and restrict the movement of people returning to India. The main aim of the act was to detain and restrict

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

immigrants returning from Canada and the United States under plans made by the

Ghadar Party The Ghadar Movement or Ghadar Party was an early 20th-century, international political movement founded by expatriate Panjabi s to overthrow British rule in India. Many of the Ghadar Party founders and leaders, including Sohan Singh Bhakna, ...

to initiate rebellion against British rule in India with help from Imperial Germany. It was first applied against the passengers of the '' Komagata Maru'' upon her arrival at Calcutta, and subsequently against Ghadarites who attempted to return to India through other ports throughout the war. The ordinance was also used to detain and deport suspected Ghadarites as far away as Shanghai back to their villages in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

for internment. Coordinating with British Intelligence services in North America led by W. C. Hopkinson, authorities in India were able to compile lists of suspected Ghadarites who had set sail from North America for India, and passengers disembarking at Indian ports were subjected to the ordinance. As a uniform rule all emigrants from North America as well as Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Manila were restricted. The ordinance was preceded and applied with a similar ordinance, the Foreigners Ordinance, which restricted the liberty of foreigners attempting to enter British India in a similar manner. Along with the

Defence of India Act 1915 The Defence of India Act 1915, also referred to as the Defence of India Regulations Act, was an emergency criminal law enacted by the Governor-General of India in 1915 with the intention of curtailing the nationalist and revolutionary activitie ...

, the ordinance was applied in a large scale throughout the war to stave off the threat from the revolutionary movement in India. The Rowlatt Committee estimated that between 1914 and 1917, the ordinance was used to intern nearly three hundred people, while a further two thousand two hundred were restricted to their villages, mainly in Punjab.

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Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingress into India act, 1914 Legislation in British India 1914 in India 1914 in law Hindu–German Conspiracy