In India The resulting protests were great, many Indians coming to the conclusion that no existence under the British Empire was tenable. Protest broke out almost immediately. In some of the rural cities of the region, local authorities asked for military assistance. Since the bridges had been destroyed, O'Dwyer allowed planes to drop bombs and fire machine guns to disperse the crowds. Elsewhere, armoured trains fired at rioters. In putting down the uprising, over three hundred more were killed. On 15 April, official martial law was declared (not only in Amritsar) and shortly after the expected harsh repressive measures began. Mass arrests were made, prisoners beaten, Indians were forced to crawl on all fours if they passed the spot where Sherwood had been attacked. Over 1,200 people were arrested, 23 were sent away for life, 58 were flogged, and 18 sentenced to death. In protest, Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood, saying in a letter that The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in their incongruous context of humiliation, and I for my part wish to stand shorn of all special distinctions by the side of those of my countrymen who, for their so-called insignificance, are liable to suffer degradations not fit for human beings. Many Indians who had previously been more moderate on the question of self-determination or independence became galvanized by the actions that took place in Punjab. As a result, Motilal Nehru (father of Jawaharlal) gave up his formerly pro-British stance, going so far as to strip his house of Western furniture and to burn all non-Indian clothes and accessories in a bonfire. He also threw his support behind his son's work toward independence.