🏛️ The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (1919) – Extended Details

⚖️ 1. The Rowlatt Act & Seeds of Protest

• Rowlatt Act (also called the “Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919”) extended emergency wartime powers even after WWI ended.

• It gave the colonial government power to arrest without trial for up to two years.

• Every Indian—from moderate leaders to revolutionaries—called it a “Black Act”.

• Gandhi launched the Rowlatt Satyagraha (6 April 1919), which saw hartals (strikes), peaceful protests, and mass gatherings.

💡 Why Punjab was so sensitive:

• Punjab had supplied the largest number of soldiers in WWI.

• Families had suffered heavy losses in the war + the influenza epidemic.

• Locals felt deeply betrayed when instead of rewards, Britain gave them repression.

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🕊️ 2. Arrest of Leaders – The Spark

• Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew (Muslim barrister) and Dr. Satyapal (Hindu physician) were charismatic local leaders in Amritsar.

• On 10 April 1919, both were arrested and secretly deported.

• When people marched peacefully to protest, the British opened fire near Amritsar railway bridge, killing several.

• Riots followed: telegraph lines were cut, banks attacked, Europeans killed.

• Punjab went into martial law-like conditions before 13 April.

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🔴 3. General Dyer – “The Butcher of Amritsar”

• Brigadier-General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer believed in ruling India with an “iron hand”.

• He thought Jallianwala Bagh was a planned rebellion.

• In his own words:

  “I fired to punish them... not to disperse the meeting but to produce a moral effect.”

• He blocked the only exit, placed troops at the entrance, and ordered continuous firing for 10–15 minutes.

• The firing stopped only when ammunition was nearly exhausted.

👉 Dyer later testified: “It was not just a crowd, it was an enemy.”

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☠️ 4. The Massacre – More Horrors

• The Well of Death: Around 120+ people jumped into the well inside the Bagh to escape bullets. All died.

• Women & Children: Entire families were killed—historians recall children clinging to their mothers being shot.

• Casualties:

  • British estimate: 379 killed, 1,200 wounded.

  • Indian leaders: Over 1,000 killed, 1,500+ injured.

• Night curfew meant the wounded lay untended for hours, many bleeding to death.

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😢 5. Immediate Shockwaves

• Entire Punjab went into mourning. Shops shut, life halted.

• Tagore wrote to the Viceroy renouncing his Knighthood, calling it “a stain on the nation’s honour.”

• Gandhi called off his first satyagraha (Rowlatt) but soon prepared for Non-Cooperation Movement (1920).

• Indians realized: British promises meant nothing.

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📜 6. Hunter Commission (Inquiry)

• Formed in October 1919 to investigate.

• Questioned Dyer, who showed no remorse.

• Report said Dyer acted beyond necessity, but he was not criminally punished.

• Dyer was forced to retire but in Britain he was hailed as a “saviour of the empire” by many.

• A fund was raised for him in London, collecting over £26,000 (huge money then).

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🌍 7. Reactions Across the World

• Winston Churchill (then Secretary of War) condemned it as “an extraordinary event, a monstrous event.”

• Edwin Montagu (Secretary of State for India) also criticized.

• But many in Britain defended Dyer, exposing the divide in British politics.

• International press condemned it as barbaric colonial rule.

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🔥 8. Impact on Freedom Movement

• Shattered trust in British “justice”.

• Transformed Gandhi from a loyalist reformer to a mass leader of resistance.

• Strengthened revolutionary movements (Bhagat Singh later cited Jallianwala Bagh as inspiration).

• United Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs under one cause.

👉 Many historians call it the “real beginning of the end of British rule in India.”

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🏛️ 9. Legacy & Memorial

• In 1951, the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act was passed.

• A flame-shaped memorial pillar stands today.

• The bullet marks on walls and the Martyrs’ Well are preserved.

• Every year, people gather to pay homage.

• In 2019 (100th anniversary), the UK expressed “deep regret” but stopped short of a formal apology.

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✨ 10. Lessons for Today

• Jallianwala Bagh reminds us of the dangers of unchecked power.

• Shows the importance of unity against oppression.

• Demonstrates how sacrifice fuels resistance.

• Remains a symbol of India’s courage, pain, and eventual triumph.

📜 1. Amritsar Before the Massacre

• Amritsar was not only a spiritual city (home to the Golden Temple) but also a political hub in Punjab.

• It was Baisakhi (the Sikh New Year + harvest festival), so thousands of villagers came to the city. Many didn’t even know about the political unrest.

• A protest meeting was planned in Jallianwala Bagh to discuss the Rowlatt Act and demand the release of Dr. Kitchlew & Dr. Satyapal.

👉 This meant the crowd was a mix of protestors + festival-goers, making it larger than usual.

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🕊️ 2. General Dyer’s Preparation

• Dyer imposed martial law-like restrictions in Amritsar: gatherings were banned, curfew was imposed, and people had to salaam (salute) Europeans in the streets.

• He received intelligence that people would gather at Jallianwala Bagh but did not issue warnings.

• Instead, he marched with:

  • 90 soldiers (50 with rifles, 40 with khukris)

  • Two armored cars with mounted machine guns (but they could not enter the narrow lanes leading to the Bagh).

👉 His mindset: “Teach Indians a lesson they will never forget.”

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🔴 3. The Massacre – Chilling Eyewitness Accounts

• Udham Singh, who later assassinated Michael O’Dwyer in 1940, was present and deeply scarred.

• Eyewitness reports mention that bullets were fired towards the densest parts of the crowd—near exits and the well.

• The Martyrs’ Well: Over 120 bodies were pulled out later. Families threw themselves in desperation.

• The firing lasted ~10 minutes, but survivors say it felt endless.

• Afterward, the ground was covered in corpses, and cries of the wounded echoed.

👉 No medical help was provided. Wounded lay all night until curfew lifted.

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⚖️ 4. The Official British Response

• Michael O’Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, defended Dyer fully, claiming it prevented rebellion.

• Hunter Commission (1919–1920) concluded:

  • Dyer’s actions were “inhumane” and “excessive.”

  • But no legal punishment was given. He was only relieved of duty.

• In Britain:

  • Many condemned him (e.g., Winston Churchill).

  • But some raised funds (£26,000+) to honor Dyer as a “hero.”

👉 This divided reaction exposed the racist double standards of colonial rule.

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🌍 5. Global Shockwaves

• Newspapers worldwide published horrifying reports.

• The massacre was compared to Russian Tsarist atrocities.

• Ireland’s independence movement cited it as proof of British hypocrisy.

• In America, Indian immigrants used it to mobilize the Ghadar Party abroad.

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🔥 6. Impact on Indian Nationalism

• Until 1919, many Indians (like Gandhi) still believed Britain could be reformed.

• After Jallianwala, Gandhi declared: “We can no longer be loyal to such a government.”

• It directly led to:

  • Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22).

  • Greater unity across religions in Punjab.

  • Rise of revolutionary nationalism (Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh).

👉 Many historians call it the “beginning of the end of the Raj.”

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😢 7. Cultural & Emotional Reactions

• Rabindranath Tagore returned his knighthood, calling it:

  “The time has come when badges of honor make our shame glaring.”

• Madam Annie Besant said it was the “worst crime in history.”

• Villagers in Punjab carried stories of the massacre orally for generations—songs, poems, and folklore still recall it.

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⚔️ 8. Udham Singh’s Revenge (1940)

• Survivor of Jallianwala, Udham Singh vowed revenge.

• On 13 March 1940, in London, he shot Michael O’Dwyer (Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in 1919 who approved Dyer’s actions).

• Udham Singh was hanged but remembered as Shaheed-i-Azam (Great Martyr).

• He said before his execution:

  “I did it because I had a grudge… I am happy I have done the job.”

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🏛️ 9. Jallianwala Bagh Memorial

• In 1951, India set up the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust.

• Memorial inaugurated by Dr. Rajendra Prasad (First President of India).

• Today, visitors see:

  • Bullet-marked walls preserved.

  • The Martyrs’ Well with railings.

  • A flame-shaped memorial pillar.

  • Light & sound shows narrating the tragedy.

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🌟 10. Apologies & Legacy

• Britain has never given a formal apology.

• In 1997, Queen Elizabeth II laid a wreath but called it a “distressing episode.”

• In 2019 (100th anniversary), British PM Theresa May expressed “deep regret” but stopped short of apologizing.

• In India, every year, leaders pay homage at the site.

👉 The massacre remains a symbol of colonial brutality and a milestone in India’s freedom struggle.

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⚡ Extra Fun Fact: The massacre deeply influenced Bhagat Singh’s family. His uncle, Ajit Singh, was already a revolutionary, but after hearing about Jallianwala, young Bhagat Singh (just 12 years old) went to the site, collected blood-stained soil, and kept it as a sacred reminder.