Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, occurring on April 13, 1919, in Amritsar, Punjab, represents a violent turning point in modern Indian history. The event shattered Indian confidence in British constitutional justice, transformed Mahatma Gandhi into an uncompromising opponent of colonial rule, and laid the groundwork for the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920.

Background and Circumstances

The tragedy grew out of widespread unrest against the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, commonly known as the Rowlatt Act.

Rising Tension in Punjab

• Anti-Rowlatt Agitation: Mahatma Gandhi called for a nationwide strike (hartal) against the Rowlatt Act on April 6, 1919. Punjab responded with complete market closures and peaceful public processions.
• Arrest of Local Leaders: On April 10, 1919, the Punjab administration under Lieutenant Governor Sir Michael O’Dwyer arrested two prominent nationalist leaders of Amritsar, Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal, and deported them to Dharamshala.
• Police Firing and Violence: News of the arrests sparked angry protests. Demonstrators marching toward the Deputy Commissioner’s residence faced police firing, resulting in casualties. Mobs retaliated by burning government property, killing five Europeans, and assaulting a missionary school teacher, Marcella Sherwood.
• Imposition of Martial Law: On April 11, 1919, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer took command of the city’s security, banning public gatherings and processions under emergency orders.

The Day of the Massacre

On April 13, 1919, thousands gathered at Jallianwala Bagh, an open ground enclosed by high walls on all sides with a single narrow passage for entry and exit.

Sequence of Events

• Nature of the Gathering: The crowd consisted of peaceful protesters against the arrest of Dr. Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal, alongside families, villagers, and pilgrims attending the annual Baisakhi festival and cattle fair.
• Military Action: General Dyer arrived with troops and two armored cars equipped with machine guns. Because the narrow entrance blocked the armored vehicles, Dyer stationed 50 soldiers armed with .303 Lee-Enfield rifles at the exit.
• Unwarned Firing: Without issuing a warning or ordering the crowd to disperse, Dyer directed troops to fire directly into the trapped gathering. Firing continued for 10 to 15 minutes until ammunition ran out.
• Casualties: According to official British estimates (Hunter Committee), 379 people died and around 1,200 sustained injuries. Indian National Congress estimates reported over 1,000 deaths and thousands injured. Many panicked people jumped into the internal water well (now named the Martyrs’ Well) to escape bullets.

Immediate Aftermath and Colonial Repression

General Dyer followed the firing with harsh administrative orders to humiliate the civilian population of Amritsar.

• Crawling Order: Dyer issued an order forcing Indians passing through Kucha Kurrichhan—the street where Marcella Sherwood was attacked—to crawl on their bellies.
• Public Floggings and Martial Law: Public floggings, electricity and water supply cuts, and public whipping posts were instituted across Amritsar, Lahore, and Gujranwala.
• Rejection of Honors: Rabindranath Tagore renounced his British Knighthood on May 31, 1919, writing a letter to Viceroy Lord Chelmsford stating that the time had come when badges of honor made disgrace conspicuous.
• Return of Medals: Mahatma Gandhi surrendered his Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal, awarded for his service during the Boer War, in August 1920.

Official Inquiries and Responses

The scale of the atrocities forced both the British administration and Indian national leadership to set up independent committees of inquiry.

Hunter Committee (1919)

The British government appointed the Disorders Inquiry Committee under Lord William Hunter in October 1919 to investigate events in Punjab, Delhi, and Bombay.

• Composition: The committee included five British members and three Indian members: Sir Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad, Pandit Jagat Narayan, and Sardar Sahibzada Sultan Ahmad Khan.
• Dyer’s Testimony: Dyer admitted before the committee that his objective was not merely to disperse the crowd, but to produce a moral effect across Punjab.
• Findings: The committee unanimously condemned Dyer’s actions, but the British members characterized his conduct as an honest misconception of duty. The Indian members wrote a minority report condemning the military actions as unjustified and inhuman.
• Action Against Dyer: Dyer was relieved of his command, recalled to Britain, and denied further military employment, though he received no criminal prosecution.

Congress Punjab Inquiry Committee

The Indian National Congress appointed its own inquiry committee comprising Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das, Abbas Tyabji, and M.R. Jayakar. The committee collected evidence, condemned Dyer’s actions, and demanded compensation for victim families alongside the prosecution of Sir Michael O’Dwyer and General Dyer.

Political Impact and Legacy

The massacre ended the period of political cooperation that marked Indian support during World War I.

• Origin of Non-Cooperation: The Amritsar atrocities, combined with the Khilafat grievance, led directly to the launching of the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920.
• Assassination of O’Dwyer: Udham Singh, an Indian revolutionary associated with the Ghadar Movement, assassinated Sir Michael O’Dwyer at Caxton Hall in London on March 13, 1940. Udham Singh held O’Dwyer responsible for approving martial law atrocities in Punjab.
• National Memorial: The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act of 1951 established a trust to build a memorial at the site. The flame monument, designed by American architect Benjamin Polk, was inaugurated in 1961.

Key Facts and Historical Context

Lord Chelmsford served as the Viceroy of India when the massacre took place in April 1919. Sir Sankaran Nair, an Indian member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council, resigned his post in protest against the imposition of martial law and atrocities in Punjab. General Dyer received a monetary gift of £26,000 and a jeweled sword inscribed with the title “Defender of the Empire” raised through a public fund by the conservative British newspaper The Morning Post upon his return to England. Winston Churchill, serving as Secretary of State for War in 1920, denounced Dyer’s action in the House of Commons, calling it “monstrous” and “an event without precedent or parallel in the modern history of the British Empire.” The British Parliament passed the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Act in 2019, removing the President of the Indian National Congress as a permanent trustee of the memorial trust and replacing them with a non-political nominee.