The Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The 1919 Amritsar shooting of an unarmed crowd by British Indian Army troops, which turned Indians against British rule.
What the paper can ask
- The crowd was protesting the Rowlatt Act and the arrests of Kitchlew and Satyapal; the troops fired for about ten minutes.
- Official death toll 379; the Congress inquiry put it around 1,000.
- The Hunter Commission criticised the commander; the House of Commons voted against him 247 to 37; Tagore renounced his knighthood.
- Udham Singh killed Michael O'Dwyer at Caxton Hall, London, in 1940; the memorial was inaugurated in 1961.
Why exams ask
The exact date, the Act being protested, the commission of inquiry and Udham Singh are the usual questions.
The full story
In 1919 a crowd gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, a walled garden in Amritsar, to protest the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of local leaders Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal. The British commander's troops blocked the main exit and fired for about ten minutes. The official toll was 379 dead; Indian estimates ran to a thousand or more.
Test yourself
1.On what date did the Jallianwala Bagh massacre take place in Amritsar?
Correct. The massacre followed protests against the Rowlatt Act. The Act was passed on 18 March 1919 and Gandhi's hartal was on 6 April.
Not quite. The massacre followed protests against the Rowlatt Act. The Act was passed on 18 March 1919 and Gandhi's hartal was on 6 April. It goes into your error book.
2.The Rowlatt Act of 1919 provided for
Correct. The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act (March 1919), based on Justice Rowlatt's committee, allowed detention without trial and trial without jury; Gandhi called a hartal against it.
Not quite. The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act (March 1919), based on Justice Rowlatt's committee, allowed detention without trial and trial without jury; Gandhi called a hartal against it. It goes into your error book.
3.The Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13 April 1919 was ordered by
Correct. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered firing on the unarmed crowd at Amritsar; Michael O'Dwyer was the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab and was shot by Udham Singh in London in 1940.
Not quite. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered firing on the unarmed crowd at Amritsar; Michael O'Dwyer was the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab and was shot by Udham Singh in London in 1940. It goes into your error book.