- Date and Location: The incident occurred on April 13, 1919, in the enclosed ground/peaceful garden of Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab.
- Background and Gathering:
- Following countrywide hartals and protests against the Rowlatt Act—which permitted detention without trial and curbed civil liberties—tensions had grown intense in Punjab.
- Mahatma Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi, detained while proceeding to Punjab, and prominent local Congress leaders in Amritsar were arrested.
- On April 10, police firing on a peaceful procession in Amritsar provoked attacks on banks, post offices, and railway stations, leading to the imposition of martial law under General Dyer.
- On April 13 (Baisakhi day), a large crowd of thousands consisting of men, women, and children assembled in Jallianwala Bagh.
- Part of the crowd gathered to peacefully protest against the repressive Rowlatt Act and the arrest of local leaders, while others had come to attend the annual Baisakhi fair and celebration.
- Many villagers attending from outside the city were unaware that martial law had been imposed.
- The Firing and Atrocities:
- Brigadier-General Dyer entered the area with his troops, blocked/sealed the main exit points, and without warning opened fire on the unarmed gathering.
- The firing continued for about ten minutes, with troops raining down 1,650 rounds of ammunition.
- Troops deliberately targeted the thickest parts of the crowd and shot at those attempting to flee through exits.
- Many people were shot, some were trampled during the panic, and others leapt into a well to escape the gunfire.
- Dyer’s Stated Objective: Dyer later declared that his objective in ordering the firing was to “produce a moral effect” and instill a sense of terror and awe in the minds of satyagrahis.
- Casualties and Toll:
- Official British counts admitted to nearly 400 dead (or more than 400 killed) and over 1,200 wounded.
- Indian estimates placed the death toll at over 1,000.
- Immediate Government Repression:
- As news of the massacre spread, crowds demonstrated, went on strike, clashed with police, and attacked government buildings across north Indian towns.
- The colonial administration retaliated with brutal measures to terrorize and humiliate the public: satyagrahis were flogged, forced to crawl on streets under Dyer’s “crawling orders”, made to rub their noses on the ground, and forced to do salaam to all sahibs.
- Villages around Gujranwala in Punjab were subjected to bombing.
- National and Leader Reactions:
- The massacre sent shockwaves across India, permanently destroyed public trust in the British administration, and united people across backgrounds in their determination to achieve freedom.
- Lala Lajpat Rai led protests in 1919 against the Rowlatt Act and the massacre.
- Rabindranath Tagore renounced his British knighthood in protest, conveying the country’s pain and indignation in a strongly worded letter to the Viceroy.
- Seeing the spread of violence following the Rowlatt satyagraha and the massacre’s aftermath, Mahatma Gandhi called off the movement.
- The outrage over the massacre—often referred to as the “Punjab wrongs”—became one of the central issues (alongside the Khilafat cause and the demand for Swaraj) that led Gandhi and the Congress to launch the Non-Cooperation Movement.
- Official Inquiries and Dyer’s Removal:
- Dyer earned the moniker “Butcher of Amritsar” and proudly defended his actions before a British-dominated inquiry committee.
- The committee condemned his conduct but did not recommend any penal action.
- Amid widespread public outcry, Dyer was ultimately removed from India.
- The British government has never formally apologised for the atrocity, limiting its remarks to describing it as a “deeply shameful event in British history”.
- Later Retaliation (Udham Singh):
- Michael O’Dwyer, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab at the time and had ruthlessly suppressed civil rights, openly defended Dyer’s actions.
- Two decades later, Indian revolutionary and Ghadar Party member Udham Singh tracked down O’Dwyer in London and shot him dead.
- Udham Singh was arrested, asserted the legitimacy of his action during his trial, and was executed by hanging.
- Memorial: A Martyrs’ Memorial was erected at the site of Jallianwala Bagh to commemorate those who lost their lives.
Reference Ncert Documents
https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/jess302.pdf
https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hess208.pdf
https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lehs303.pdf
https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hees202.pdf
