Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

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• PM paid tribute to the brave Indians who died in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on April 13, 1919.

What happened on April 13, 1919

• Rowlatt Act: 
  • The British had imposed a draconian Martial Law, banning public gatherings. 
  • On March 10, 1919, Rowlatt Act (Black Act) was passed, authorising the government to imprison or confine, without a trial, any person found involved in seditious activities. 
    • The British introduced the ‘Rowlatt Act’, on the recommendations of the Sedition Committee chaired by Sir Sidney Rowlatt & and Act modelled on the Defence of India Act of 1915.
  • The rule led to discontent among Indians. 
  • Mahatma Gandhi launched the Satyagraha movement to protest against the Rowlatt Act. 
  • On April 7, 1919, Gandhi published an article called Satyagrahi, describing ways to oppose the oppressive rule.
• Arrest of activists: 
  • Two popular Indian independence activists, Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal, also organised a peaceful protest against the Rowlatt Act in Amritsar. 
  • On the occasion of Ram Navami on April 9, 1919, an order was issued to arrest the duo. 
  • In view of the protests, Britishers banned the public gatherings.
  • The crowd assembled at Jallian Wala Bagh to peacefully protest at the venue condemning the arrest of these freedom fighters.
• Ordered open firing:
  • When Colonel Dyer got to know about the gathering, he reached the venue with around 50 soldiers.
  • With a motive to punish civilians for showing “disobedience”, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer arrived at the Jallianwala Bagh and sealed off the exit to ensure nobody could flee the spot. 
  • He then ordered the troops to fire into a crowd of thousands of unarmed civilians.
  • The firing went on for about 10 minutes and around 1,650 rounds of bullets were fired.
• According to the British government, 379 people died and 1,200 were wounded in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Some records say nearly a thousand were killed.
• As Britishers resorted to indiscriminate firing, many raised “inquilab zindabad” slogans and jumped into a well. More than 200 bodies were recovered from the well after the firing.
• The massacre angered Indians and Mahatma Gandhi gave a call for non-cooperation movement.

Post Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

• Martial Law: The shooting was followed by the proclamation of martial law in Punjab.
• Non-cooperation Movement: The Jallianwalah Bagh massacre angered the Indian people and Mahatma Gandhi called the Non-cooperation Movement (1920-22).
• Renouncement of Knighthood: The Bengali poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore renounced the knighthood that he received in 1915.
  • Mahatma Gandhi gave up the title of Kaiser-i-Hind, bestowed by the British for his work during the Boer War.
• Formation of Hunter Commission: On 14 October 1919, after orders issued by the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, the Government of India announced the formation of a committee of inquiry into the events in Punjab.
  • Referred to as the Disorders Inquiry Committee, it was later more widely known as the Hunter Commission.
  • In 1920 Commission censured Dyer for his actions and ordered him to resign from the military.

Source: HT